Artificial intelligence in impurity prediction: current landscape, challenges, and future directions

Earlier identification, regulation of impurities in pharmaceutical products is critical throughout the medication development process because they have a high impact on drug quality, safety, and regulatory approval. Traditional analytical methods like LC-MS and NMR are frequently used, but they are labour intensive, time consuming and have limited capacity to detect unknown or trace level impurities. New opportunities to forecast impurity formation before experimental observation have been enabled by developments in cheminformatics and computer modelling. This study covers advanced chemical representation techniques, data generation, data curation, and model validation with highlighting recent advances in machine learning and deep learning algorithms for impurity prediction. In association with forecasting synthetic by products, degradation products, and harmful contaminants, traditional QSAR techniques, and contemporary deep learning models such as graph neural networks, transformer based architectures, and generative frameworks are examined. Additionally, discussed the increasing significance of explainable models for regulatory body acceptability. Lastly, newly developed advanced techniques like digital twins, automated impurity profiling, integrated reaction degradation modelling, and real-time monitoring are examined, demonstrating how computational methods are transforming impurity assessment from a reactive effort into a predictive and preventive procedure.