Chemistry explained by topology: an alternative approach
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Updated: Jun 3, 2026

Determining Membrane Protein Topology Using Fluorescence Protease Protection (FPP)
Published on: April 20, 2015
Jorge Galvez1, Vincent M Villar, Maria Galvez-Llompart
1Molecular Connectivity and Drug Design Unit, University of Valencia, Spain. jorge.galvez@uv.es
Abstract:
Molecular topology can be considered an application of graph theory in which the molecular structure is characterized through a set of graph-theoretical descriptors called topological indices. Molecular topology has found applications in many different fields, particularly in biology, chemistry, and pharmacology. The first topological index was introduced by H. Wiener in 1947 [1]. Although its very first application was the prediction of the boiling points of the alkanes, the Wiener index has demonstrated since then a predictive capability far beyond that. Along with the Wiener index, in this paper we focus on a few pioneering topological indices, just to illustrate the connection between physicochemical properties and molecular connectivity.
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