Machine learning vs. field 3D-QSAR models for serotonin 2A receptor psychoactive substances identification

Serotonergic psychedelics, substances exerting their effects primarily through the serotonin 2A receptor (5HT2AR), continue to comprise a substantial portion of reported new psychoactive substances (NPS). In this paper five quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) models for predicting the affinity of 5-HT2AR ligands have been developed. The resulting models, exploiting the accessibility of the QSAR equations, generate a useful tool for the investigation and identification of unclassified molecules. The models have been built using a set of 375 molecules using Forge software, and the quality was confirmed by statistical analysis, resulting in effective tools with respect to their predictive and descriptive capabilities. The best performing algorithm among the machine learning approaches and the classical field 3D-QSAR model were then combined to produce a consensus model and were exploited, together with a pharmacophorefilter, to explore the 5-HT2AR activity of 523 105 natural products, to classify a set of recently reported 5-HT2AR NPS and to design new potential active molecules. The findings of this study should facilitate the identification and classification of emerging 5-HT2AR ligands including NPS.