Equilibrium reactions

Equilibrium reactions are critical to the characterization, formulation and disposition of drugs. Key equilibrium reactions are acid-base equilibria (pKa values and pH measurements), partition coefficients (log P or log D values), solubilities, critical micelle concentrations and complexation reactions (binding constants) are all important characteristics of drugs and excipients. All of these phenomena are controlled and quantified according to the principles of equilibrium thermodynamics, for which the Gibbs’ and van’t Hoff equations are the most relevant. The Pharmaceutics Department maintains both the skills and the facilities for measurement of these important quantities.