Correlation of water solubility with octanol-water partition coefficient: a response

Nanoparticulate strategies for effective delivery of poorly soluble therapeutics

The pharmacological activity of a drug molecule depends on its ability to dissolve and interact with its biological target, either through dissolution and absorption, or through dissolution and receptor interaction. The low bioavailability that characterizes poorly water-soluble drugs is usually attributed to the dissolution kinetic profile. Novel strategies to effectively deliver these drugs include nanoparticulate approaches that either increase the surface area of the drug or improve the solubility characteristics of the drug. Nanosizing approaches are based on the production of drug nanocrytals dispersed in an aqueous surfactant solution, whereas other possibilities include drug loading in nanoparticles. Promising nanoparticulate approaches include the development of lipid-based nanocarriers to increase drug solubility followed by enhanced bioavailability. To select the best approach there are, however, some critical considerations to take into account, for example the physicochemical properties of the drug, the possibility to scale-up the production process, the toxicological considerations of the use of solvents and cosolvents, the selection of an environmentally sustainable methodology and the development of a more patient-friendly dosage form. This article addresses these relevant questions and provides feasible examples of novel strategies with respect to relevant administration routes.

The limits of bioaccumulation of organic pigments in fish: their relation to the partition coefficient and the solubility in water and octanol

A reliable experimental determination of the partition coefficient Pow of organic pigments is met with serious difficulties due to the extremely low water solubilities of these compounds. Therefore, the Pow values and the water solubilities were calculated for 11 typical organic pigments and some disperse dyes as well. The calculated Pow values of the pigments were very high predicting bioaccumulation factors (BF) several orders of magnitude above 100. Based on recent studies confirming that n-octanol simulates lipids in their solubilizing effect on organic chemicals, the solubilities of these organic pigments in n-octanol were measured in order to estimate their potential for lipid storage. The very low solubility values indicate that in spite of the very high predicted BF such pigments cannot build up concentrations in lipids (hence in fish) which could be of concern considering their generally low toxicity and the extremely small amounts entering the environment. Therefore, there should be no need to perform a fish bioaccumulation test for assessing the bioaccumulation potential of such compounds, provided they show comparable solubility characteristics as the pigments investigated in this study.