Anomalous and Not-So-Common Behavior in Common Ionic Liquids and Ionic Liquid-Containing Systems.

This work highlights unexpected, not so well known responses of ionic liquids and ionic liquid-containing systems, which are reported in a collective manner, as a short review. Examples include: (i) Minima in the temperature dependence of the isobaric thermal expansion coefficient of some ILs; (ii) Viscosity Minima in binary mixtures of IL + Molecular solvents; (iii) Anomalies in the surface tension within a family of ILs; (iv) The constancy among IL substitution of Cp/Vm at and around room temperature; (v) ILs as glass forming liquids; (vi) Alternate odd-even side alkyl chain length effects; (vii) Absolute negative pressures in ILs and IL-containing systems; (viii) Reversed-charged ionic liquid pairs; (ix) LCST immiscibility behavior in IL + solvent systems.

Simultaneous Separation of Antioxidants and Carbohydrates From Food Wastes Using Aqueous Biphasic Systems Formed by Cholinium-Derived Ionic Liquids.

The food industry produces significant amounts of waste, many of them rich in valuable compounds that could be recovered and reused in the framework of circular economy. The development of sustainable and cost-effective technologies to recover these value added compounds will contribute to a significant decrease of the environmental footprint and economic burden of this industry sector. Accordingly, in this work, aqueous biphasic systems (ABS) composed of cholinium-derived bistriflimide ionic liquids (ILs) and carbohydrates were investigated as an alternative process to simultaneously separate and recover antioxidants and carbohydrates from food waste. Aiming at improving the biocompatible character of the studied ILs and proposed process, cholinium-derived bistriflimide ILs were chosen, which were properly designed by playing with the cation alkyl side chain and the number of functional groups attached to the cation to be able to create ABS with carbohydrates. These ILs were characterized by cytotoxicity assays toward human intestinal epithelial cells (Caco-2 cell line), demonstrating to have a significantly lower toxicity than other well-known and commonly used fluorinated ILs. The capability of these ILs to form ABS with a series of carbohydrates, namely monosaccharides, disaccharides and polyols, was then appraised by the determination of the respective ternary liquid-liquid phase diagrams at 25°C. The studied ABS were finally used to separate carbohydrates and antioxidants from real food waste samples, using an expired vanilla pudding as an example. With the studied systems, the separation of the two products occurs in one-step, where carbohydrates are enriched in the carbohydrate-rich phase and antioxidants are mainly present in the IL-rich phase. Extraction efficiencies of carbohydrates ranging between 89 and 92% to the carbohydrate-rich phase, and antioxidant relative activities ranging between 65 and 75% in the IL-rich phase were obtained. Furthermore, antioxidants from the IL-rich phase were recovered by solid-phase extraction, and the IL was recycled for two more times with no losses on the ABS separation performance. Overall, the obtained results show that the investigated ABS are promising platforms to simultaneously separate carbohydrates and antioxidants from real food waste samples, and could be used in further related applications foreseeing industrial food waste valorization.

Molecular dynamics studies on the structure and interactions of ionic liquids containing amino-acid anions.

Several molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have been performed in order to obtain structural information on ionic liquids (ILs) based on amino-acid anions. Six hydrophilic ILs containing cholinium or imidazolium cations combined with alaninate, glycinate or lysinate anions were modelled using the all-atom CL&P and OPLS-AA force fields. Both pure ILs and their aqueous solutions have been studied. The MD data have allowed us to analyse structure factors, S(q), and pair radial distributions functions, g(r), as well as aggregation patterns and specific interactions. The results have shown us that in neat amino-acid-based ILs the anions interact mainly through their carboxylate moiety with the charged centres of the cations. Both the lack of heavy atoms and the small size of the interacting centre in the anion contribute to the absence of a charge ordering peak in the structure factor functions of the corresponding ILs. In turn, their aqueous solutions reveal the existence of small ionic aggregates. The size distribution of these aggregates is strongly dependent on the solution's concentration. This fact points to the possibility of using amino-acid-based ILs as agents to promote hydrotrope effects, significant for the solubilisation and stabilization of organic molecules and macromolecules in aqueous solution.

Design of task-specific fluorinated ionic liquids: nanosegregation versus hydrogen-bonding ability in aqueous solutions.

We demonstrate that fluorinated ionic liquids reduce the impact of the addition of water upon the ionic liquid's H-bond acceptance ability. This is a key factor to obtain functionalized materials to be used e.g. in the dissolution of biomolecules, extraction processes or material engineering.

ILs through the looking glass: electrostatics and structure probed using charge-inverted ionic liquid pairs.

Ionic liquids combining potassium cations with 1-alkyl-3-methylcyclopentadienyl anions, K[CnC1Cp] (n = 4, 6) have been synthesized. Differential scanning calorimetry measurements have shown that K[C4C1Cp] and K[C6C1Cp] melt without decomposition at around 90 °C. These two ionic liquids are the charge-inverted counterparts of [C4C1Im]Cl and [C6C1Im]Cl, two common ionic liquids. The concept of charge-inverted ionic pairs is used to explore the nature of the interactions and structure in different ionic compounds, from simple alkali halide salts to ionic liquids based on complex molecular ions. Different sets of experimental data, empirical correlations and molecular dynamics simulations are used to that effect.

Thermophysical Characterization of Ionic Liquids Based on the Perfluorobutanesulfonate Anion: Experimental and Soft-SAFT Modeling Results.

Fluorinated ionic liquids (FILs) exhibit complex molecular behavior, where three different nanodomains (polar, hydrogenated nonpolar, and fluorinated nonpolar) have been identified by molecular simulations. Given the high number of possible anion/cation combinations, a theoretical tool able to describe the thermophysical properties of these compounds in a systematic, rapid, and accurate manner is highly desirable. We present here a combined experimental-theoretical methodology to obtain the phase, interface, and transport properties of the 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium perfluorobutanesulfonate ([Cn C1 Im][C4 F9 SO3 ]) family. In addition to providing new experimental data, an extended version of the Statistical Associating Fluid Theory (soft-SAFT) is used to describe the physicochemical behavior of the [Cn C1 Im][C4 F9 SO3 ] family. A mesoscopic molecular model is built based on the analysis of the chemical structures of these FILs, and supported by quantum chemical calculations to study the charge distribution of the anion, where only the basic physical features are considered. The resulting molecular parameters are related to the molecular weight, providing the basis for thermophysical predictions of similar compounds. The theory is also able to predict the minimum in the surface tension versus the length of the hydrogenated alkyl chain, experimentally found at n=8. The viscosity parameters are also in agreement with the free-volume calculations obtained from experiments.

Fluorinated ionic liquids for protein drug delivery systems: Investigating their impact on the structure and function of lysozyme.

Since the approval of recombinant human insulin by FDA in 1982, more than 200 proteins are currently available for pharmaceutical use to treat a wide range of diseases. However, innovation is still required to develop effective approaches for drug delivery. Our aim is to investigate the potential use of fluorinated ionic liquids (FILs) as drug delivery systems (DDS) for therapeutic proteins. Some initial parameters need to be assessed before further studies can proceed. This work evaluates the impact of FILs on the stability, function, structure and aggregation state of lysozyme. Different techniques were used for this purpose, which included differential scanning fluorimetry (DSF), spectrophotometric assays, circular dichroism (CD), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM/TEM). Ionic liquids composed of cholinium-, imidazolium- or pyridinium- derivatives were combined with different anions and analysed at different concentrations in aqueous solutions (below and above the critical aggregation concentration, CAC). The results herein presented show that the addition of ionic liquids had no significant effect on the stability and hydrolytic activity of lysozyme. Moreover, a distinct behaviour was observed in DLS experiments for non-surfactant and surfactant ionic liquids, with the latter encapsulating the protein at concentrations above the CAC. These results encourage us to further study ionic liquids as promising tools for DDS of protein drugs.

Enhanced tunability afforded by aqueous biphasic systems formed by fluorinated ionic liquids and carbohydrates.

This work unveils the formation of novel aqueous biphasic systems (ABS) formed by perfluoroalkylsulfonate-based ionic liquids (ILs) and a large number of carbohydrates (monosaccharides, disaccharides and polyols) aiming at establishing more benign alternatives to the salts commonly used. The respective ternary phase diagrams were determined at 298 K. The aptitude of the carbohydrates to induce phase separation closely follows their hydration capability, while the length of the IL cation/anion fluorinated chain also plays a crucial role. Finally, these systems were investigated as liquid-liquid extraction strategies for four food dyes. Single-step extraction efficiencies for the carbohydrate-rich phase up to 94% were obtained. Remarkably and contrarily to the most investigated IL-salt ABS, most dyes preferentially migrate for the most hydrophilic and biocompatible carbohydrate-rich phase - an outstanding advantage when envisaging the products recovery and further use. On the other hand, more hydrophobic dyes preferentially partition to the IL-rich phase, disclosing therefore these novel systems as highly amenable to be tuned by the proper choice of the phase-forming components.

Influence of Nanosegregation on the Surface Tension of Fluorinated Ionic Liquids.

We have investigated, both theoretically and experimentally, the balance between the presence of alkyl and perfluoroalkyl side chains on the surface organization and surface tension of fluorinated ionic liquids (FILs). A series of ionic liquids (ILs) composed of 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium cations ([CnC1im] with n = 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, or 12) combined with the perfluorobutanesulfonate anion was used. The surface tensions of the investigated liquid salts are considerably lower than those reported for non-fluorinated ionic liquids. The most surprising and striking feature is the identification, for the first time, of a minimum at n = 8 in the surface tension versus the length of the IL cation alkyl side chain. Supported by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, it was found that this trend is a result of the competition between the two nonpolar domains (perfluorinated and aliphatic) pointing toward the gas-liquid interface, a phenomenon which occurs in ILs with perfluorinated anions. Furthermore, these ILs present the lowest surface entropy reported to date.

Antitumor Activity of Ionic Liquids Based on Ampicillin.

Significant antiproliferative effects against various tumor cell lines were observed with novel ampicillin salts as ionic liquids. The combination of anionic ampicillin with appropriate ammonium, imidazolium, phosphonium, and pyridinium cations yielded active pharmaceutical ingredient ionic liquids (API-ILs) that show potent antiproliferative activities against five different human cancer cell lines: T47D (breast), PC3 (prostate), HepG2 (liver), MG63 (osteosarcoma), and RKO (colon). Some API-ILs showed IC50 values between 5 and 42 nM, activities that stand in dramatic contrast to the negligible cytotoxic activity level shown by the ampicillin sodium salt. Moreover, very low cytotoxicity against two primary cell lines-skin (SF) and gingival fibroblasts (GF)-indicates that the majority of these API-ILs are nontoxic to normal human cell lines. The most promising combination of antitumor activity and low toxicity toward healthy cells was observed for the 1-hydroxyethyl-3-methylimidazolium-ampicillin pair ([C2 OHMIM][Amp]), making this the most suitable lead API-IL for future studies.

Aggregation behavior and total miscibility of fluorinated ionic liquids in water.

In this work, novel and nontoxic fluorinated ionic liquids (FILs) that are totally miscible in water and could be used in biological applications, where fluorocarbon compounds present a handicap because their aqueous solubility (water and biological fluids) is in most cases too low, have been investigated. The self-aggregation behavior of perfluorosulfonate-functionalized ionic liquids in aqueous solutions has been characterized using conductometric titration, isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), surface tension measurements, dynamic light scattering (DLS), viscosity and density measurements, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Aggregation and interfacial parameters have been computed by conductimetry, calorimetry, and surface tension measurements in order to study various thermodynamic and surface properties that demonstrate that the aggregation process is entropy-driven and that the aggregation process is less spontaneous than the adsorption process. The novel perfluorosulfonate-functionalized ILs studied in this work show improved surface activity and aggregation behavior, forming distinct self-assembled structures.

The impact of ionic liquid fluorinated moieties on their thermophysical properties and aqueous phase behaviour.

In this work, we demonstrate that the presence of fluorinated alkyl chains in Ionic Liquids (ILs) is highly relevant in terms of their thermophysical properties and aqueous phase behaviour. We have measured and compared the density and viscosity of pure 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tris(pentafluoroethyl)trifluorophosphate, [C2C1im][FAP], with that of pure 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate, [C2C1im][PF6], at atmospheric pressure and in the (288.15 to 363.15) K temperature range. The results show that the density of [C2C1im][PF6] is lower than that of [C2C1im][FAP], while the viscosity data reveal the opposite trend. The fluid phase behaviour of aqueous solutions of the two ILs was also evaluated under the same conditions and it was found that the mutual solubilities of [C2C1im][FAP] and water are substantially lower than those verified with [C2C1im][PF6]. The experimental data were lastly interpreted at a molecular level using Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation results revealing that the interactions between the IL ions and the water molecules are mainly achieved via the six fluorine atoms of [PF6](-) and the three analogues in [FAP](-). The loss of three interaction centres when replacing [PF6](-) by [FAP](-), coupled with the bulkiness and relative inertness of the three perfluoroethyl groups, reduces its mutual solubility with water and also contributes to a lower viscosity displayed by the pure [FAP]-based IL as compared to that of the [PF6]-based compound.

Playing with ionic liquid mixtures to design engineered CO2 separation membranes.

Ionic liquids have been explored as attractive alternative media for CO2 separation not only due to their low volatility but also due to their highly tuneable nature. Aiming at designing highly efficient liquid phases for flue gas separation and natural gas purification, this work focuses on the use of binary ionic liquid mixtures containing sulfate and/or cyano-functionalized anions. Several mixtures were prepared and their gas transport properties through supported ionic liquid membranes (SILMs) were investigated. The thermophysical properties of these mixtures, namely viscosity and density (data presented and discussed in ESI), were also measured so that trends between transport properties and thermophysical properties could be evaluated. The results obtained indicate that depending on the anions mixed, membranes with fine-tuned gas permeabilities, diffusivities and solubilities can be obtained. Additionally, SILMs prepared with these ionic liquid mixtures are on the upper bound of the CO2/N2 separation, or even may surpass it, indicating their potential for separating CO2 in low-pressure post-combustion processes. Overall, the use of ionic liquid mixtures combining the most selective anions with the least viscous anions is a highly promising strategy to design advanced engineered liquid phases for CO2 separation membranes.

Spontaneous emulsification in ionic liquid/water systems and its use for templating of solids.

We report on the spontaneous formation of nano-sized ionic liquid/water (IL/W) emulsions in a simple system solely composed of an IL and aqueous solution of an inorganic salt. The IL ions play a dual role, that of both a surfactant and the dispersed phase. No extra surfactant is needed to promote emulsification. Droplets generation at the IL/W interface is captured by nanoparticulate and porous films that imprint the morphology of this unstable interface. The emulsion droplets are employed to create core-shell microcrystals with potential functionality.

Novel organic salts based on fluoroquinolone drugs: synthesis, bioavailability and toxicological profiles.

In order to overcome the problems associated with low water solubility, and consequently low bioavailability of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), novel organic salts containing fluoroquinolones (e.g. ciprofloxacin and norfloxacin) were prepared, using an optimized synthetic procedure based on direct protonation, with different biocompatible counter ions such as mesylate, gluconate and glycolate. All the prepared organic salts were characterized by spectroscopic techniques, mass spectrometry and thermal analysis. Solubility studies in water and simulated biological fluids at 25°C and 37°C were also performed. Additionally, octanol-water and phospholipid-water partition coefficients were measured at 25°C. The cytotoxicity and anti-inflammatory efficacy using an human cell model of intestinal epithelia (Caco-2 cells) were also evaluated and compared to those of the parent APIs. The adequate selection of the biocompatible anions allows the tuning of important physical, thermal and toxicological properties.

Ex situ reconstitution of the plant biopolyester suberin as a film.

Biopolymers often have unique properties of considerable interest as a basis for new materials. It is however not evident how to extract them from plants without destroying their chemical skeleton and inherent properties. Here we report the ex situ reconstitution of the biopolyester suberin as a new waterproof and antimicrobial material. In plant cell walls, suberin, a cross-linked network of aromatic and aliphatic monomers, builds up a hydrophobic protective and antimicrobial barrier. Recently we succeeded in extracting suberin from the plant cell wall using the ionic liquid cholinium hexanoate. During extraction the native three-dimensional structure of suberin was partially preserved. In this study, we demonstrate that this preservation is the key for its ex situ reconstitution. Without any chemical additives or purification, the suberin composing macromolecules undergo self-association on the casting surface forming a film. Suberin films obtained show barrier properties similar to those of the suberin barrier in plants, including a potentially broad bactericidal effect.

Molecular interactions in aqueous biphasic systems composed of polyethylene glycol and crystalline vs. liquid cholinium-based salts.

The relative ability of cholinium-([Ch](+))-based salts, including ionic liquids (ILs), to form biocompatible aqueous biphasic systems (ABS) with polyethylene glycols (PEGs) was deeply scrutinized in this work. Aqueous solutions of low molecular weight PEG polymers (400, 600, and 1000 g mol(-1)) and [Ch](+) salts of chloride, acetate, bicarbonate, glycolate, lactate, dihydrogenphosphate, dihydrogencitrate, and bitartrate can undergo liquid-liquid demixing at certain concentrations of the phase-forming components and at several temperatures. Cholinium butanoate and propanoate were also studied; however, these long alkyl side chain ILs are not able to promote an immiscibility region with PEG aqueous solutions. The ternary liquid-liquid phase diagrams, binary water activities, PEG-salt and salt-H2O solubility data, and binary and ternary excess enthalpies estimated by COSMO-RS (COnductor-like Screening MOdel for Realistic Solvation) were used to obtain new insights into the molecular-level mechanisms responsible for phase separation. Instead of the expected and commonly reported salting-out phenomenon induced by the [Ch](+) salts over the polymer, the formation of PEG-[Ch](+) salt ABS was revealed to be an end result of a more intricate molecular scenario. The multifaceted approach employed here reveals that the ability to promote an ABS is quite different for the higher melting salts vs. the lower melting or liquid ILs. In the latter systems, the ABS formation seems to be controlled by the interplay of the relative strengths of the ion-ion, ion-water, ion-PEG, and water-PEG interactions, with a significant contribution from specific hydrogen-bonding between the IL anion and the PEG hydroxyl groups.

Cholinium-based supported ionic liquid membranes: a sustainable route for carbon dioxide separation.

Aiming at full sustainability of CO2 separation processes, a series of supported ionic liquid membranes based on environmentally friendly cholinium carboxylate ionic liquids were successfully prepared. Their gas permeation properties were measured and high permselectivities were obtained for both CO2 /CH4 and CO2 /N2 .

The alternation effect in ionic liquid homologous series.

A recent report on a density odd-even alternation effect in a homologous series of ionic liquids (alkyltrioctylphosphonium chlorides, with the linear alkyl group ranging from ethyl to decyl) led to the detection of a similar trend in another ionic liquid family based on a different cation (1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium). Ab initio calculations and Molecular Dynamics simulations of the corresponding ions confirmed that the charge distribution along the alkyl side chains and the conformations adopted by them are not the direct cause of the odd-even effect. The simulations also showed that all cation side chains tend to adopt transoid conformations that pack head-to-head in the liquid phase. Such types of conformations/packing lead to odd-even alternation effects on properties involving solid phases of different molecular compounds containing linear alkyl chains. The surprising results obtained for the ionic liquid series enabled us to unveil similar trends in the liquid phases of linear alkanes and alkanols via the application of a simple corresponding states principle.

Combining ionic liquids and polyethylene glycols to boost the hydrophobic-hydrophilic range of aqueous biphasic systems.

This work reveals, for the first time, that polymer-ionic-liquid-based aqueous biphasic systems (ABS) exhibit a much wider hydrophilic-hydrophobic range than conventional systems reported to date. Three probe dyes were used to demonstrate that either the polymer-rich or the ionic-liquid-rich layer can serve as the most hydrophobic phase. It was found that the phase polarities can be easily tuned by the choice of an appropriate ionic liquid.