The development of DEREK, a computer-based expert system (derived from the LHASA chemical synthesis design program) for the qualitative prediction of possible toxic action of compounds on the basis of their chemical structure is described. 2. The system is able to perceive chemical sub-structures within molecules and relate these to a rulebase linking the sub-structures with likely types of toxicity. 3. Structures can be drawn in directly at a computer graphics terminal or retrieved automatically from a suitable in-house database. 4. The system is intended to aid the selection of compounds based on toxicological considerations, or separately to indicate specific toxicological properties to be tested for early in the evaluation of a compound, so saving time, money and some laboratory animals and resources.
