Predicting Partition Coefficients with a Simple All-Atom/Coarse-Grained Hybrid Model

The solvation free energy is an essential quantity in force field development and in numerous applications. Here, we present the estimation of solvation free energies in polar (water, hexanol, octanol, and nonanol) and in apolar (hexane, octane, and nonane) media. The estimates are produced using molecular dynamics simulations employing a simple all-atom/coarse-grained hybrid model (AA/ELBA) and are therefore very efficient. More than 150 solutes were taken from the Minnesota solvation database and represent small, organic molecules. The mean absolute deviation for the different solvents ranges between 2.0 and 4.1 kJ/mol, and the correlation coefficient ranges between 0.78 and 0.99, indicating that the predictions are accurate. Outliers are identified, and potential avenues for improvements are discussed. Furthermore, partition coefficients between water and the organic solvents were estimated, and the percentage of the predictions that has the correct sign ranges between 74% (for octane) and 92% (for octanol and hexanol). Finally, membrane/water partition coefficients are replaced with hexane/water and octanol/water partition coefficients, and the latter is found to be as accurate as the expensive membrane calculations, indicating a wider application area.