Partition of Volatile Organic Compounds from Air and from Water into Plant Cuticular Matrix: An LFER Analysis

Abstract

The partitioning of organic compounds between air and foliage and between water and foliage is of considerable environmental interest. The purpose of this work is to show that partitioning into the cuticular matrix of one particular species can be satisfactorily modeled by general equations we have previously developed and, hence, that the same general equations could be used to model partitioning into other plant materials of the same or different species. The general equations are linear free energy relationships that employ descriptors for polarity/polarizability, hydrogen bond acidity and basicity, dispersive effects, and volume. They have been applied to the partition of 62 very varied organic compounds between cuticular matrix of the tomato fruit, Lycopersicon esculentum, and either air (MXa) or water (MXw). Values of log MXa covering a range of 12.4 log units are correlated with a standard deviation of 0.232 log unit, and values of log MXw covering a range of 7.6 log unit are correlated with an SD ...