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SwissADME is a free web tool from the Molecular Modelling Group of the SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (University of Lausanne) that predicts physicochemical properties, lipophilicity, water solubility, pharmacokinetics, drug-likeness and medicinal-chemistry flags for small molecules from a list of SMILES strings. It needs no login. This guide shows the click path, how to read each output panel, and why the BOILED-Egg plot, the Bioavailability Radar and the Bioavailability Score answer different questions. Outputs are computational predictions, not measurements.
What SwissADME is used for in research
Medicinal chemists and drug-discovery students use SwissADME to triage compounds: is the molecule polar or lipophilic, is it likely to be absorbed from the gut, is it likely to cross the blood-brain barrier, does it trip common medicinal-chemistry alerts. The models and outputs are described in the tool’s paper (Daina, Michielin and Zoete, Scientific Reports 7:42717, 2017, DOI 10.1038/srep42717). For the wider field, see what cheminformatics is.
Access and input
Open the tool at swissadme.ch; the home page has a box labelled “Enter a list of SMILES here” and links to the Help, FAQ and Citing pages. The help page states that there is no technical limit on the number of molecules and that a drug-like molecule takes roughly 1 to 5 seconds. The home page notes that, after ChemAxon discontinued academic-site support, SwissADME was modified and no longer relies on ChemAxon software.
Step by step: run molecules and export results
- Type or paste SMILES into the list, one per line. An optional name can follow the SMILES after a space; unnamed molecules receive a numbered tag.
- To start from a drawing instead, use the sketcher: draw the structure, import an SDF or MRV file, or enter a name (DrugBank, ChEBI or IUPAC names), then click the double-arrow button to convert it to SMILES and add it to the list.
- To try the tool first, click “Fill with an example”.
- Click Run. The button is active only when the list is not empty. Results appear on the same page.
- For the BOILED-Egg plot, click “Show BOILED-Egg” (the button then reads “Hide BOILED-Egg”). Tick “Show Molecules Name” to label the points.
- To export, use the CSV icon below the SMILES list; the second icon copies the table to the clipboard.
Output and how to read it
Each molecule gets its own panel with the 2D structure, canonical SMILES and a Bioavailability Radar, followed by the sections Physicochemical Properties, Lipophilicity, Pharmacokinetics, Druglikeness and Medicinal Chemistry. Hover over the red question-mark icons for the description and references of each parameter.
| Output | What it reports (Daina et al. 2017) | Read it as |
|---|---|---|
| Physicochemical Properties | Molecular weight, molar refractivity, atom counts, TPSA | Size and polarity descriptors calculated from structure |
| Lipophilicity | Five log P predictors (iLOGP, XLOGP3, WLOGP, MLOGP, SILICOS-IT) plus a consensus value | Compare the five; disagreement between methods is itself information. Background: logP vs logD |
| Water solubility | Log S from the ESOL, Ali and SILICOS-IT models, with solubility classes | Three model estimates, not a measured solubility |
| Pharmacokinetics | Log Kp, GI absorption, BBB permeation, P-gp substrate status, inhibition of CYP1A2, CYP2C19, CYP2C9, CYP2D6 and CYP3A4 | Classification predictions, one per endpoint |
| Druglikeness | Lipinski, Ghose, Veber, Egan and Muegge filters, plus the Abbott Bioavailability Score | Rule-based flags; each filter has its own definition in the hover help |
| Medicinal Chemistry | PAINS and Brenk alerts, leadlikeness, synthetic accessibility from 1 (easy) to 10 (difficult) | Structural-alert and ease-of-synthesis screens |
The BOILED-Egg plot
The BOILED-Egg plots WLOGP against TPSA. According to the help page, the white region indicates likely passive gastrointestinal absorption and the yellow yolk indicates likely blood-brain-barrier permeation. The regions are not mutually exclusive, and compounds outside both are drawn grey and counted under Remarks. Blue points are predicted P-gp substrates (PGP+) and red points predicted non-substrates (PGP-). Hover over a point to see the structure; click it to open that molecule’s panel.
Radar, Bioavailability Score and BOILED-Egg answer different questions
| Output | Question it answers | Source description |
|---|---|---|
| Bioavailability Radar | Does the molecule sit in the optimal range for six properties: lipophilicity, size, polarity, solubility, flexibility, saturation? | The pink area is optimal; a molecule is drug-like if the plot falls entirely within it (Daina et al. 2017) |
| BOILED-Egg | Is passive GI absorption or BBB permeation likely, given WLOGP and TPSA? | Help page, swissadme.ch |
| Abbott Bioavailability Score | A probability: the PMC summary of the paper describes it as the probability of at least 10% oral bioavailability in rat | Daina et al. 2017 (PMC5335600) |
Do not merge these into one verdict. Each answers a separate question, and none replaces experimental measurement.
Troubleshooting
- Run is greyed out: the SMILES list is empty. Paste at least one SMILES or click “Fill with an example”.
- A drawn structure is not in the list: in the sketcher, click the double-arrow button to convert the drawing to SMILES and add it to the list before running.
- A molecule is missing from the egg: compounds outside both the white and the yolk regions are drawn grey and counted under Remarks.
- Unsure what a parameter means: hover over its red question-mark icon.
Free alternatives and companion tools
The help page describes red icons that send a molecule on to other tools from the same group. Those tools answer different questions from ADME prediction. For reference data on drugs and targets, see the DrugBank guide; for repositioning workflows, drug repurposing.
| Tool | Relationship to SwissADME (per the SwissADME help page) |
|---|---|
| SwissSimilarity | A molecule can be sent to it from a SwissADME result panel |
| SwissTargetPrediction | A molecule can be sent to it from a SwissADME result panel |
How to cite SwissADME
The tool’s Citing page points to the 2017 paper: Daina A, Michielin O, Zoete V. SwissADME: a free web tool to evaluate pharmacokinetics, drug-likeness and medicinal chemistry friendliness of small molecules. Sci Rep 7:42717 (2017). DOI 10.1038/srep42717; PMID 28256516.
FAQ
Is SwissADME free?
Yes. It is a free web tool and needs no login (Daina et al. 2017).
What input does SwissADME take?
A list of SMILES, one per line with an optional name, or a structure drawn or imported in the built-in sketcher and converted to SMILES.
How do I read the BOILED-Egg?
White region: likely passive gastrointestinal absorption. Yellow yolk: likely blood-brain-barrier permeation. Grey points fall in neither. Blue points are predicted P-gp substrates, red points non-substrates.
Are SwissADME results experimental values?
No. They are predictions from computational models.
How do I save the results?
Use the CSV icon below the SMILES list to download a table, or the second icon to copy it to the clipboard.
Sources (read 2026-11-08)
- SwissADME home page and Help page, SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics.
- Daina A, Michielin O, Zoete V. Sci Rep 7:42717 (2017). PMC5335600.
