Druglikeness

Druglikeness is a qualitative concept used in drug design for how "druglike" a substance is with respect to factors like bioavailability. It is estimated from the molecular structure before the substance is even synthesized and tested. A druglike molecule has properties such as: Solubility in both water and fat, as an orally administered drug needs to pass through the intestinal lining after it is consumed, be carried in aqueous blood and penetrate the lipid-based cell membrane to reach the inside of a cell. A model compound for the lipophilic cellular membrane is 1-octanol (a lipophilic medium-chain fatty alcohol), so the logarithm of the octanol-water partition coefficient, known as LogP, is used to predict the solubility of a potential oral drug. This coefficient can be experimentally measured or predicted computationally, in which case it is sometimes called "cLogP". As the lipophilicity of ionizable compounds is strongly dependent of pH, the distribution coefficient logD, or a logP vs pH curve may be used instead. Potency at the biological target. High potency (high value of pIC50) is a desirable attribute in drug candidates, as it reduces the risk of non-specific, off-target pharmacology at a given concentration. When associated with low clearance, high potency also allows for low total dose, which lowers the risk of idiosyncratic drug reactions. Ligand efficiency and lipophilic efficiency. Molecular weight: The smaller the better, because diffusion is directly affected. The great majority of drugs on the market have molecular weights between 200 and 600 Daltons, and particularly