A mixture of oil and water separates into two phases. This is due to the fact that oil is immiscible with water. When a compound is added to such a mixture it will be distributed between the two phases. The degree of distribution depends upon the chemical structure of the compound. If the compound is more lipophillic then it will have higher affinity towards the oily phase. If the compound is more hydrophillic then it will have higher affinity towards the water (aqueous) phase. Thus, the partition coefficient, K(o/w) of a given compound is the ratio between the concentration of the compound in the oily phase to its concentration in the aqueous phase at equilibrium at a given temperature. This is indicative of the degree of lipophilicity of compounds.
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