Psychedelic Drugs Rediscovered-In Silico Study of Potential Fetal Exposure to Analogues of Psychedelic Drugs During Pregnancy.
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) – January 08, 2026
Source: PubMed
Summary
A concerning finding reveals most of 250 psychedelic drugs and ketamine analogues readily cross the human placenta. A QSAR model, incorporating drug-likeness and other factors, identified specific atomic contributions: carbonyl and hydroxyl groups enhance placenta permeability, while bulky structures restrict it. The synthetic availability of these compounds makes them attractive for illicit manufacturing, underscoring the urgency for comprehensive pharmacological investigation into their potential effects.
Abstract
A total of 250 known and novel compounds-ketamine and serotonergic psychedelics or their analogues-designed to target depression, addictions and/or other mental or neurological disorders and developed as "recreational" (illegal) drugs from three chemical families, ergolines, tryptamines and phenylethylamines, were investigated in the context of their ability to cross the human placenta. Using a novel multivariate model involving compounds' drug-likeness (according to Lipinski's Ro5), caco-2 membrane permeability, fraction unbound to plasma proteins, steady-state volume of distribution and the total count of heteroatoms (non-carbon atoms with hydrogens included), it was established that the majority of studied compounds are likely to cross the placenta easily, most probably by the passive diffusion mechanism. Atomic contributions of structural elements of studied compounds were investigated using the Morgan fingerprinting algorithm and it was postulated that the fragments promoting transport of compounds across the placenta are carbonyl, hydroxyl, nitro- and phosphoryloxy groups-rigid polycyclic structures, bulky alkyl/aryl groups and halogen atoms restrict the trans-placental passage. All studied compounds are expected to be relatively easily obtained by synthetic routes, which makes them an interesting target for manufacturers of illegal drugs and warrants the need to pursue pharmacological studies of these compounds in silico.