What is a biophore?
A biophore is a structural fragment that is statistically related to biological activity. For example, presence of the N-N=O (nitrosamine) fragment is strongly correlated with mutagenicity in both aromatic and aliphatic chemicals. “Toxicophore” and “pharmacophore” are related terms, applied to biophores that are connected with some toxic or therapeutic endpoint. The term “structural alert” has also been applied in computational toxicology, meaning a chemical fragment that is a warning signal for a toxic endpoint (especially mutagenicity).
