Formulators do not naturally turn to statistical thermodynamics for experimental inspiration. However, with the newer, intuitive approach to statistical thermodynamics, the formulator gains deep insights into the hitherto confusing effects of ‘cosolvents’, ‘hydrotropes’, ‘solubilizers’ that affect properties such as solubility, gelation or conformational stability. The historical confusion has arisen from classical approaches that simply cannot disentangle causes and effects. The aim of this review is to demonstrate how a formulator can work with statistical thermodynamics towards a rational design of experiments and an unambiguous interpretation of the driving forces behind cosolvent effects.

配方设计师自然不会寻求统计热力学来获得实验灵感。但是，借助更新的，直观的统计热力学方法，配方设计师对“助溶剂”，“水溶助长剂”，“增溶剂”迄今令人困惑的影响诸如溶解度，胶凝或构象稳定性等性质的影响有了深刻的认识。历史的困惑源于经典的方法，这些方法根本无法弄清因果关系。这篇综述的目的是演示配方设计师如何利用统计热力学进行合理的实验设计和对助溶剂作用背后驱动力的明确解释。