Figure 4.

The very first application of quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) modeling for NANP immunostimulation uses measured physical and chemical properties as inputs to predict a given NANP’s ability to generate a pro-inflammatory response. (A) A library of 16 NANPs which incorporate the same sequences was used to determine the physicochemical properties contributing to immune response. From the study, size (diameter) was determined to contribute the least to immune response, followed by K_D, GC content, molecular weight, T_m and, finally, stability with the highest contribution into the random forest model. (B) A schematic showing the QSAR modeling approach which uses the 16 NANP library.