Hydrophobic compound solubility

Hydrophobic compound solubility" describes the degree to which nonpolar, water-repellent compounds can dissolve, often in water or other solvents. Hydrophobic compounds, such as hydrocarbons with predominantly C-H bonds, generally have low solubility in water due to their inability to form favorable interactions (such as hydrogen bonds) with water molecules[1][3][7]. Their limited solubility is largely governed by the hydrophobic effect, where water molecules order themselves around the nonpolar solute, causing an entropic penalty and favoring the aggregation or phase separation of hydrophobic molecules from the aqueous phase[4][5][8]. The concept is fundamental to fields such as chemistry, biochemistry, drug formulation, and biological membrane physics, but does not describe a drug target, specific molecular entity, or protein.

Other names

Solubility of hydrophobic compoundsHydrophobic solubilityHydrophobicity and solubility