Effect of group substitution on the physicochemical properties of ibuprofen prodrugs.

A series of alkyl ester prodrugs of ibuprofen was synthesized and studied for its physicochemical properties like aqueous solubility, octanol-water partition coefficient and hydrolysis kinetics in aqueous buffer and human plasma. These physicochemical parameters have a forebearing on the overall activity profile of these prodrugs. Mathematical relationships have been derived to characterize these properties.