Various artificial membranes (e.g. PAMPA) and cellular-based membranes (e.g. Caco-2) are used for screening during early stages of drug discovery. However, these methods are not well suited for evaluation of pharmaceutical formulations and the effects of various excipients on drug availability. When drug molecules permeate biological membranes they encounter two types of permeation resistance, a membrane resistance in the lipophilic membrane and diffusion resistance in the unstirred water layers adjacent to both surfaces of the lipophilic membrane. We have developed an artificial membrane that is cheap and simple to prepare. The unstirred water layer consists of a hydrated semi-permeable cellophane membrane with a molecular weight cutoff (MWCO) of 12,000-14,000 Da and a lipophilic membrane of pure n-octanol in a nitrocellulose matrix. In the diffusion cell the hydrated cellophane membrane (thickness 210-230 microm) is on the donor side and the lipophilic octanol membrane (thickness about 120 microm) on the receptor side. Permeation of ionizable lipophilic drug molecules was diffusion-controlled when the drug was unionized but lipophilic membrane controlled when the drug was ionized. Drug permeation patterns from cyclodextrin containing formulations through the membrane were similar to those previously observed for biological membranes such as hairless mouse skin and the eye cornea.