The topology of molecular representations and its influence on machine learning performance

Florian Rottach, Sebastian Schieferdecker, Carsten Eickhoff

Abstract: Advancements in cheminformatics have led to numerous methods for encoding molecules numerically. The choice of molecular representation impacts the accuracy and generalizability of learning algorithms applied to chemical datasets. Designing and selecting the appropriate representation often lacks a systematic approach and follows computationally exhaustive empirical testing. Moreover, research has shown that deep learning models do not substantially outperform traditional approaches across many tasks with no clear explanation for this shortfall. In this work, we present TopoLearn, a model that predicts the effectiveness of representations on datasets based on the topological characteristics of the corresponding feature space. Using interpretability techniques, we find that persistent homology descriptors are linked with the error metrics of trained machine learning models, offering a new method to better understand and select molecular representations.

External IDs:dblp:journals/jcheminf/RottachSE25