HYDROPHOBICITY ESTIMATIONS BY REVERSED-PHASE LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY - IMPLICATIONS FOR BIOLOGICAL PARTITIONING PROCESSES

Liquid chromatography has long been used for the estimation of ''hydro phobicity'' of solutes of biological, environmental and agricultural i nterest. These measurements have taken the form of octanol-water parti tion coefficient estimation, or less often the more fundamental proces ses that the octanol-water partition coefficient is intended to model. Here we review both the chromatographic methods used for these estima tions, their successes and failures, and discuss pertinent solution th ermodynamics of the partitioning of small molecules between bulk phase s, such as octanol and water, and between a bulk phase and an interpha se, such as partitioning of solute molecules into lipid layers and bio logical membranes.