Determination of hydrophobic parameters by reversed-phase liquid chromatography: theory, experimental techniques, and application in studies on quantitative structure-activity relationships.

The use of RPLC retention parameters as descriptors of the hydrophobic nature of bioactive compounds has been evaluated. The relationship between the capacity factor, measured on n-alkyl-bonded stationary phases using binary eluents, and the n-octanol-water partition coefficient has been illustrated experimentally and theoretically. It is suggested that retention parameters, in particular the capacity factor (log kw) obtained by extrapolation of retention data from binary eluents to 100% water, could successfully replace the n-octanol-water partition coefficient in studies on quantitative structure-activity relationship, and that their use may result in a better correlation with biological data.