N-OCTANOL-WATER PARTITION-COEFFICIENTS, AQUEOUS SOLUBILITIES AND HENRYS LAW CONSTANTS OF FATTY-ACID ESTERS

The aqueous solubility and n-octanol-water partition coefficient of fi fteen fatty acid esters are determined by the RP-HPLC method. Aqueous solubilities decrease from 5.7 x 10(-5) M for methyl caprate to 5.3 x 10(-12) M for methyl behenate while the log K-ow's increase from 4.4 t o 10. Special attention is given to satisfying the statistical assumpt ions underlying the establishment of the calibration line. Residual pl ots show that in this case small systematic errors are introduced rapi dly even if the selected substances for the calibration line are simil ar in their physiscal properties to the fatty acid esters. Combining p reviously determined vapour pressure data with the estimated solubilit y values allows for the estimation of Henry's law constants. Although the calculated values are not very accurate, it can be concluded that they are in general lower than those of the halogenated hydrocarbon so lvents. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd