Polar surface area
The polar surface area or topological polar surface area of a molecule is defined as the surface sum over all polar atoms or molecules, primarily oxygen and nitrogen, also including their attached hydrogen atoms.
PSA is a commonly used medicinal chemistry metric for the optimization of a drug's ability to permeate cells. Molecules with a polar surface area of greater than 140 angstroms squared tend to be poor at permeating cell membranes. For molecules to penetrate the blood–brain barrier, a PSA less than 90 angstroms squared is usually needed.
