Lipophilicity, expressed as the octanol-water partition coefficient, constitutes the most important property in drug action, influencing both pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics processes as well as drug toxicity. On the other hand, biomimetic properties defined as the retention outcome on HPLC columns containing a biological relevant agent, provide a considerable advance for rapid experimental - based estimation of ADME properties in early drug discovery stages. Areas covered: This review highlights the paramount importance of lipophilicity in almost all aspects of drug action and safety. It outlines problems brought about by high lipophilicity and provides an overview of the drug-like metrics which incorporate lower limits or ranges of logP. The fundamental factors governing lipophilicity are compared to those involved in phospholipophilicity, assessed by Immobilized Artificial Membrane Chromatography (IAM). Finally, the contribution of biomimetic properties to assess plasma protein binding is evaluated. Expert opinion: Lipophilicity and biomimetic properties have important distinct and overlapping roles in supporting the drug discovery process. Lipophilicity is unique in early drug design for library screening and for the identification of the most promising compounds to start with, while biomimetic properties are useful for the experimentally-based evaluation of ADME properties for the synthesized novel compounds, supporting the prioritization of drug candidates and guiding further synthesis.

The ambivalent nature of IAM chromatography, as a border case between passive diffusion and binding, defines its multiple potential applications. However, despite its successful performance in many permeability and drug-membrane interactions studies, IAM chromatography is still used as a supportive and not a stand-alone technique. Further studies looking at IAM chromatography in different biological processes are still required if this technique is to have a more focused and consistent application in drug discovery.

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