Structure-activity relationships of selected pyridines. III. Log Kow analysis

Twenty 2- and 3-position derivatives of pyridine (C5H5N) were tested following a short-term static protocol. Biological activity was monitored as population growth of Tetrahymena pyriformis. These data were combined with previously reported data for twenty 4-position derivatives. Structure-activity relationships were examined using Kow as the physicochemical descriptor. These data form three linear models: one for the non-H-polar derivatives and two for the H-polar derivatives. The latter two models are parallel but have no obvious basis for a priori selectivity. HPLC analysis for toxicant persistence shows that only the smaller non-H-polar derivatives have any significant abiotic loss over the duration of the biological testing.