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Is there a way to calculate the theoretical saturation point between two materials?

For example, let's say I want to determine the solubility of vitamin A in water, or vitamin B in olive oil, or vitamin D in milk. In these examples, if I know the molecular structure of the vitamins and the various liquids, can I figure out at what point saturation will be reached?

To be clear: If there's a way, I want to learn how to calculate these theoretical saturation values. I don't want to just get them from a table somewhere.

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  • $\begingroup$ I am pretty sure there isn't a simple way to determine the saturation point of a solution just by knowing its structure. You need to know more information. If you know the Ksp (solubility equilibrium constant) then calculating the saturation point is pretty simply. However unfortunately you need to get the Ksp from a table somewhere. $\endgroup$
    – Nanoputian
    Commented Apr 18, 2016 at 8:23

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Yes. But it would probably be faster to simply find some empirical data.

You would need to:

  1. Approximate the hydrophobicity of your vitamins (for rather big molecules like vitamins, this would need some mathematical modeling, but there are some computer programs that can do this rather accurately.

  2. This data could be used to approximate the solubility in water and probably also olive oil. But milk is quite complex, as there will be a solubility equilibrium in/between both the fat phase and the water phase. And all the salts and other compounds in the milk (and to a small degree in olive oil) will affect the solubility.

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