Valeria Catalani, PhD student on final year of her project entitled “Analysing and assessing the current web-based Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS) scenarios: developing a theoretical model to predict future drug issues in the real world” at the Psychopharmacology, Drug Misuse & Novel Psychoactive Substances Research Unit, University of Hertfordshire. She has a master’s degree in Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Technologies (Rome, La Sapienza University, 2010) with special interest in New Psychoactive Substances and computational chemistry. Works experience includes Antidoping, Forensic and High Resolution Mass Spectrometry .

In silico technologies: preliminary (risk)assessment on New Psychoactive Substances
abstract
Valeria Catalani, Michelle Botha, John Martin Corkery, Amira Guirguis , Fabrizio Schifano
Psychopharmacology, Drug Misuse & Novel Psychoactive Substances Research Unit, School of Life & Medical Sciences, University of Hertfordshire, College Lane Campus, Hatfield, United Kingdom
The presentation will include a brief introduction to the current state of NPS focussing mainly on the associated threats and challenges this class of substances poses. An overview of what In Silico methodologies are and their advantages for preliminary (risk) assessment of novel molecules will follow. Each methodology will be described together with their application and their contribution in the assessment process. State-of-the-art and current applications will be discussed. The presentation will conclude with an overview of how In Silico methodologies could help as part of the early warning systems already in place.