Hydrotropy: A Boon in Thin layer Chromatography A Review

Abstract

Around a century ago, in 1916, the term ‘hydrotropy’ was coined by the scientist Carl A. Neuberg to concentrate on anionic organic salts which significantly enhanced the aqueous solubility of weakly soluble solutes1. The thin layer chromatography (TLC) of drugs are usually performed with the help of solvents like butyl amine, toluene, ether, chloroform, light petroleum, ethyl acetate, ethanol, hexane, xylene and phenol. The majority of which are much expensive and toxic1-3. Now a days, aqueous solubility of drugs is major problem in pharmaceutical field. Hydrotropic agents are employed as mobile phase for estimation of poorly aqueous soluble drugs by TLC technique. The current review takes the readers throughout a brief summary, geometrical Features of hydrotropic agents, and their different advances toward Chromatographic techniques. Moreover, this review would provide an insight of the future perspectives concerned with the TLC and hydrotropism. In future, hydrotropic solutions shall prove a boon in TLC and high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) analysis of a vast number of drugs thereby limiting the use of organic solvents to a great extent.