Molecular surface electrostatic potentials of anticonvulsant drugs

The computed molecular surface electrostatic potentials of a group of anticonvulsants of various chemical types were investigated with the objective of identifying common features that may be related to their activities. The calculations were carried out with the density functional B3P86/6-31G* procedure, using HF/STO-3G*-optimized geometries. Analysis of several statistically based properties of the surface potentials indicates that the negative regions are of primary importance and that an optimum intermediate level of local polarity, or internal charge separation, is required. (C) 1948 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.