Lipophilicity represents the affinity of a molecule or a moiety for a lipophilic environment. It is commonly measured by its distribution behaviour in a biphasic system, either liquid-liquid (
e.g., partition coefficient in 1-octanol/water) or solid-liquid (retention on reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (
RP-HPLC) or thin-layer chromatography (
TLC) system).
Sources:
PAC, 1972, 31, 577. 'Manual of Symbols and Terminology for Physicochemical Quantities and Units, Appendix II: Definitions, Terminology and Symbols in Colloid and Surface Chemistry' on page 607 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac197231040577)
PAC, 1994, 66, 1077. 'Glossary of terms used in physical organic chemistry (IUPAC Recommendations 1994)' on page 1123 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac199466051077)
PAC, 1997, 69, 1137. 'Glossary of terms used in computational drug design (IUPAC Recommendations 1997)' on page 1145 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac199769051137)