Lipophilicity
Lipophilicity (from Greek lipos "fat" and philein "to love") is the ability of a chemical compound to dissolve in fats, oils, lipids, and non-polar solvents such as hexane or toluene. These non-polar solvents are lipophilic since they resemble lipids in terms of their polarity. Lipophilicity is a concept important in many aspects of pharmacy, chemistry, and biochemistry.
Overview[edit | edit source]
Lipophilicity is commonly measured by its partition coefficient P between octanol and water (log P). This partition coefficient is used to quantify the lipophilicity of a compound. The higher the log P of a compound, the higher its lipophilicity.
Importance in Medicine[edit | edit source]
In medicine, lipophilicity is one of the most important properties of a drug molecule. It affects the absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) of the drug in the body. Drugs must be lipophilic enough to cross the lipid-rich cell membranes, but not so lipophilic that they accumulate in the fat stores of the body.
Measurement[edit | edit source]
There are several methods to measure lipophilicity, such as the shake flask method, reverse phase HPLC, immobilized artificial membrane (IAM) chromatography, and silico predictions.
See Also[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
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