While DEREK is a valuable tool for predicting chemical toxicity, it has several limitations:
The accuracy of predictions is highly dependent on the quality and comprehensiveness of its knowledge base. It may not account for novel chemical structures not previously documented. It provides qualitative, rather than quantitative, predictions, which means it indicates the presence or absence of a risk but does not quantify the degree of risk. The system primarily focuses on structural alerts, which may not capture all mechanisms of toxicity, such as those involving metabolic activation.
