Application of PSA in Virtual Screening

At Novartis, so-called BioavailabiUty Radar Plots [44] are used to visually display the oral absorption potential of molecules. On these plots five important calculated descriptors (log P, molecular weight, PSA, number of rotatable bonds and water solubility score [45]) are displayed on the axes of a pentagonal radar plot and compared with predefined property limits (green area) which were determined by the analysis of marketed oral drugs. These plots provide an intuitive tool that displays multiple parameters as a single chart in a straightforward but informative way, providing visual feedback about the molecule s bioavailabiUty potential (Fig. 5.5). 

Closely related to the use of PSA in virtual screening is its application in the design of combinatorial libraries with optimal properties. These applications are reviewed further in Refs. [46, 47], for example. 

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