Solubility, solvation thermodynamics and solvent effect of thiabendazole in several cosolvent blends

Abstract

Equilibrium solubility determination and model correlation were performed in the present research for the systems formed by solid solute of thiabendazole and binary aqueous blends of acetonitrile, methanol, n-propanol and isopropanol. Experiments at temperatures ranging from 283.15 to 323.15 K were conducted by the use of the shake-flask saturation technique at 101.2 kPa. For the given binary solvent blends, the minimum mole fraction solubility was recorded in water at 283.15 K; and the maximum one, in neat organic solvent at 323.15 K. The generated equilibrium solubility was satisfactorily described by two models, modified van’t Hoff-Jouyban–Acree and Jouyban–Acree, with the relative average deviations (%) of no more than 6.08. Good prediction results of extend Hildebrand solubility approach (relative average deviations < 4.10%) were observed in terms of quartic polynomial for the four solution systems to correlate the interaction parameter (W) and solubility parameters of the solvents’ blends in the absence of thiabendazole (δ1+2). Analysis of the relative contributions from intra- and inter-molecular interactions to solubility variation of solid solute of thiabendazole (298.15 K) was quantitatively carried out via the linear solvation energy relationships (LSER). The descriptors of blended solvents comprising solubility parameter and hydrogen-bond basicity were principally responsible for the variation of determined solubility. Besides, the preferential solvation of thiabendazole was quantitatively researched via the inverse Kirkwood–Buff integrals method on the basis of some accessible properties for blended solvent systems. The positive preferential solvation parameters for thiabendazole in the middle and cosolvent-rich blends powerfully suggested that thiabendazole was preferentially solvated by cosolvents of isopropanol, acetonitrile, n-propanol, ethanol and methanol. The conjecture was reasonable that in above compositions, thiabendazole mainly served as Lewis acidic in terms of its interactions with alcohol molecules; while for the acetonitrile mixtures, this behavior was contributed by polarization effect. Besides, thiabendazole was preferentially solvated by ethanol (2) in ethyl acetate (1) + ethanol (2) solutions with ethyl acetate-rich compositions, and by water (2) solvent in aqueous blends with rich water compositions.