Thermodynamics of mixing and solvation of ibuprofen and naproxen in propylene glycol plus water cosolvent mixtures

By using the van't Hoff and Gibbs equations, solubility data of ibuprofen (IBP) and naproxen (NAP) determined at several temperatures in propylene glycol (PG) + water (W) cosolvent mixtures were used to evaluate the Gibbs energies, enthalpies, and entropies of solution, mixing and solvation. The solubilities are greater in pure PG and lower in W in both cases at all studied temperatures. These results clearly show that a cosolvent effect is present in these systems. The solvation of these drugs was greater in W compared to PG, and it was lower in the cosolvent mixtures compared with the pure solvents. By means of an enthalpy-entropy compensation analysis, non-linear Delta H-soln degrees Delta G(soln)degrees compensation plots were obtained, with negative and positive slopes if all of the composition intervals are considered. Accordingly, it follows that at low PG solvent fractions the dominant factor for the solubility of IBP and NAP in this cosolvent system is the entropy, probably due to loosening of the water structure caused by the addition of the cosolvent.