Physical pharmacy Dr. Khaled Sh.

Shamareekh
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Solubility and solutions

Definitions

The solution is a mixture of two or more components that form a one homogeneous phase.

The solvent is the component that determines the phase of the solution and it usually
constitutes the largest proportion of the system.

The solute is the other component and it is dispersed as molecules or ions throughout the
solvent, i.e. they are dissolved in the solvent.

The dissolution is transfer of molecules or ions from a solid state into solution and it is
controlled by the affinity between the molecules of solute and solvent.

The solubility is the amount of solute that dissolved in the solvent at equilibrium between the
dissolved and undissolved solute.

The saturated solution is that contains the concentration of solubility of solute.

 The types of solutions involve the three states of matter (gas, liquid, solid) dissolved in
any of the three states of matter, i.e. solid in liquid, liquid in solid, liquid in liquid, solid in
vapour, etc.

 The term of miscibility is used rather than solubility when the two components (the
solute and solvent) forming a solution are either both gases or both liquids.
Physical pharmacy Dr. Khaled Sh. Shamareekh
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Dissolution mechanisms

The dissolution of a solid in a liquid is composed of two consecutive stages:

1. The first is an interfacial reaction that liberates the solute molecules from the solid
phase to the liquid phase and includes:

a) Leaving the surface: The solvent/solute forces of attraction must overcome the
cohesive forces of attraction between the molecules of the solid.

b) Moving into the liquid: Liquids are thought to contain a small amount of so-called
free volume (holes). Individual solute molecules enter these holes, as shown
below.

Replacement of particle molecules with

solvent molecules during dissolution

The theory of holes in the mechanism of dissolution

Physical pharmacy Dr. Khaled Sh. Shamareekh
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2. Diffusion: then the solute molecules migrate through the boundary layer. Boundary
layers are static or slow-moving layers of liquid that surround the surface of particle.

This boundary layer inhibits the movement of solute molecules from the surface of
particle to the bulk of the solution.

Boundary layer and concentration change surrounding a dissolving particle

Expressions of solubility and concentration

Quantity per quantity

Concentration is expressed mostly by the weight of solute in a given volume of solution.

 For example, if we dissolve 1 g of a solute in one liter of water, the expression can be as
follows:
Physical pharmacy Dr. Khaled Sh. Shamareekh
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1 g/L, 0.1 g/100 mL, 1 mg/mL, 5 mg/5 mL or 1 µg/µL.

Or

1 g L-1, 0.1 g/100 mL, 1 mg mL-1, 5 mg/5 mL or 1 µg µL-1.

Percentage

Pharmacists have a preference for mentioning concentrations in percentages, which is is given

by:

 For the previous example, the concentration = X 100 = 0.1 % w/v

Parts

Pharmacopoeias give information on the solubility of substances in terms of the number of

‘parts’ of solute dissolved in a number of ‘parts’ of solution.

 For our example, the expression would be 1 part/1000 parts.

However, the use of ‘parts’ in scientific work is not recommended, as there is chance for some
degree of ambiguity.

Molarity

This is the number of moles of solute in 1 L of solution. The unit of molarity (M) is mol L-1.
Physical pharmacy Dr. Khaled Sh. Shamareekh
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 For our example, if the solute is sodium chloride NaCl (58.44 g/mol), the molarity would
be:

0.017 mol/L or 0.017 mol L-1

Milliequivalents and normal solutions

In the case of electrolytes the concentrations may be expressed in terms of milliequivalents per
litre. A milliequivalent (mEq) of an ion is one-thousandth of the gram equivalent of the ion,
which is the ionic weight expressed in milligrams divided by the valency of the ion.

A normal solution, i.e. one with a concentration of 1 N, is one that contains the equivalent
weight of the solute, expressed in grams, in 1 L of solution.

Qualitative descriptions of solubility

Pharmacopoeias also express approximate solubilities that correspond to descriptive terms

such as ‘freely soluble’ and ‘sparingly soluble’. These terms and their approximate solubility is
shown in Table below.
Physical pharmacy Dr. Khaled Sh. Shamareekh
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Descriptive solubility: United States Pharmacopeia and European Pharmacopoeia terms for describing
solubility