Determination of erythrocyte membrane-buffer partition coefficients by numerical analysis of multicomponent spectra

A method suitable for the measurement of erythrocyte membrane-buffer partition coefficients by u.v.-spectrophotometry is described. This method is characterized by a proper correction for inconstant background absorption in case of bad signal to noise ratios. For this purpose the multicomponent u.v.-spectrum of a compound in the presence of absorbing materials lost by erythrocyte membranes is decomposed into its constituent spectra by means of numerical analysis. Application of this method to the determination of partition coefficients of benzhydrol, 4-bromophenol and benzyl alcohol yields satisfactory agreement with literature values for the latter two coefficients.