Incorporating the novel developments that have occurred in this field since the publication of the first edition, Quantitative Drug Design: A Critical Introduction, Second Edition shows scientists how to apply quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) techniques at a state-of-the-art level. It presents computational methods that analyze the relationships between molecular structure and biological activity, emphasizing techniques that provide a quantitative forecast of biological potency.<BR><BR>Based on the author's four decades of experience in all areas of ligand-based computer-assisted drug design, this invaluable book describes how to transform ligand structure-activity relationships into models that predict the potency or activity/inactivity of new molecules. It discusses the physical chemistry of ligand-macromolecule interactions and the computer programs that translate a molecule's potential to participate in these interactions into interpretable quantitative descriptors. The book also covers the fundamentals of multivariate statistics and validation procedures needed to support a valid structure-activity model.