High performance liquid chromatography as a source of structural information for medicinal chemistry

The methods of generating physicochemical data related to the changes in structure of solutes by means of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) are reviewed from the point of view of quantitative relationships between chemical structure and biological activity. The information obtainable from retention data are discussed in categories of the specific molecular interactions involved and in thermodynamic terms. The advantages and limitations of the approaches directly relating bioactivity and capacity factors are also considered. The present and potential usefulness of HPLC for medicinal chemistry is demonstrated.