Predicting the pKa of small molecule

Comb Chem High Throughput Screen. 2011 Jun 1;14(5):307-27. doi: 10.2174/138620711795508403.

Abstract

The biopharmaceutical profile of a compound depends directly on the dissociation constants of its acidic and basic groups, commonly expressed as the negative decadic logarithm pKa of the acid dissociation constant (Ka). We survey the literature on computational methods to predict the pKa of small molecules. In this, we address data availability (used data sets, data quality, proprietary versus public data), molecular representations (quantum mechanics, descriptors, structured representations), prediction methods (approaches, implementations), as well as pKa-specific issues such as mono- and multiprotic compounds. We discuss advantages, problems, recent progress, and challenges in the field.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Diffusion
  • Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
  • Molecular Structure
  • Neural Networks, Computer
  • Pharmaceutical Preparations / chemistry*
  • Quantum Theory
  • Software
  • Thermodynamics

Substances

  • Pharmaceutical Preparations