In this work, the aqueous solubilities of two hydroxybenzoic acids (gallic and salicylic acid) and three phenylpropenoic acids (trans-cinnamic, ferulic, and caffeic acids) are addressed. Measurements were performed, as a function of temperature, between 288.15 and 323.15 K, using the shake-flask method for generating the saturated aqueous solutions, followed by compositional analysis by spectrophotometric and gravimetric methods.The pH values of the saturated aqueous solutions were measured by potentiometry. Additional thermodynamic properties, which are fundamental for a better understanding of the solubilization process, as well as necessary for the modeling studies, such as melting temperatures and fusion enthalpies were determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Apparent acid dissociation constants (K a ) were obtained by potentiometry titration. The measured data were modeled with the cubic-plus-association (CPA) equation of state (EoS). This EoS is applied, for the first time, for multifunctional associating molecules, and the results indicate that it can adequately be used to represent the measured and other literature data with satisfactory accuracy.

In this work, pure solvent solubilities of drugs, such as paracetamol, allopurinol, furosemide and budesonide, measured in the temperature range between 298.2-315.2K are presented. The solvents under study were water, ethanol, acetone, ethyl acetate, carbon tetrachloride and n-hexane. Measurements were performed using the shake-flask method for generating the saturated solutions followed by compositional analysis by HPLC. Previous literature values on the solubilities of paracetamol were used to assess the experimental methodology employed in this work. No literature data was found for any of the other drugs studied in this assay. Melting properties of the pure drugs were also determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to provide a broader knowledge about the solubilization process and also for modeling purposes. The solubility data as a function of temperature were used to determine the thermodynamic properties of dissolution like, Gibbs energy, enthalpy and entropy. Theoretical work was essentially focused on the evaluation of the Nonrandom Two-Liquid Segment Activity Coefficient (NRTL-SAC) model, which has been referred as a simple and practical thermodynamic framework for drug solubility estimation. A satisfactory agreement was found between experimental and calculated values: the absolute average deviation was 68% for the correlation in the organic solvents and 38% for the prediction in water, where the best results in prediction could be related to the selected solvents.

We present a phase-field study of oscillatory breathing modes observed during the solidification of three-dimensional cellular arrays in microgravity. Directional solidification experiments conducted onboard the International Space Station have allowed us to observe spatially extended homogeneous arrays of cells and dendrites while minimizing the amount of gravity-induced convection in the liquid. In situ observations of transparent alloys have revealed the existence, over a narrow range of control parameters, of oscillations in cellular arrays with a period ranging from about 25 to 125 min. Cellular patterns are spatially disordered, and the oscillations of individual cells are spatiotemporally uncorrelated at long distance. However, in regions displaying short-range spatial ordering, groups of cells can synchronize into oscillatory breathing modes. Quantitative phase-field simulations show that the oscillatory behavior of cells in this regime is linked to a stability limit of the spacing in hexagonal cellular array structures. For relatively high cellular front undercooling (i.e., low growth velocity or high thermal gradient), a gap appears in the otherwise continuous range of stable array spacings. Close to this gap, a sustained oscillatory regime appears with a period that compares quantitatively well with experiment. For control parameters where this gap exists, oscillations typically occur for spacings at the edge of the gap. However, after a change of growth conditions, oscillations can also occur for nearby values of control parameters where this gap just closes and a continuous range of spacings exists. In addition, sustained oscillations at to the opening of this stable gap exhibit a slow periodic modulation of the phase-shift among cells with a slower period of several hours. While long-range coherence of breathing modes can be achieved in simulations for a perfect spatial arrangement of cells as initial condition, global disorder is observed in both three-dimensional experiments and simulations from realistic noisy initial conditions. In the latter case, erratic tip-splitting events promoted by large-amplitude oscillations contribute to maintaining the long-range array disorder, unlike in thin-sample experiments where long-range coherence of oscillations is experimentally observable.