ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book deals with the solubility parameters that were developed originally to explain liquid state properties and gases, solids, and polymers. It introdces surfaces and interfaces and this subject is extended to chromatography. The book focuses on biological systems. The use of solubility parameters and other cohesion parameters has just one aim: to provide a simple method of correlating and predicting the cohesive and adhesive properties of materials from a knowledge of the properties of the components only. A predictor of mixing ability (solubility, compatibility) differs from a measure of mixing ability just as a falling barometer differs from a rain gauge: two components of a mixture do not need to be brought together before predictions can be made on their miscibility. There have been numerous reviews on the subject of Hildebrand solubility parameters and other cohesion parameters concentrating on various aspects.
