We present a new
and entirely mechanistic COSMOperm method to predict
passive membrane permeabilities for neutral compounds,
as well as anions and cations. The COSMOperm approach
is based on compound-specific free energy profiles within a membrane
of interest from COSMO-RS (conductor-like screening model for realistic
solvation) calculations. These are combined with membrane layer-specific
diffusion coefficients, for example, in the water phase, the polar
head groups, and the alkyl tails of biochemical phospholipid bilayers.
COSMO-RS utilizes first-principle quantum chemical structures and
physically sound intermolecular interactions (electrostatic, hydrogen
bond, and van der Waals). For this reason, it is unbiased toward different
application scenarios, such as in cosmetics and industrial chemical
or pharmaceutical industries. A fully predictive calculation of passive
permeation through phospholipid bilayer membranes results in a performance
of r
2 = 0.92; rmsd = 0.90 log10 units for neutral compounds and anions, as compared to gold standard
black lipid membrane experiments. It will be demonstrated that new
membrane types can be generated by the related COSMOplex method and directly used for permeability studies by COSMOperm.