Deep Eutectic Solvents and Pharmaceuticals

Abstract

Deep eutectic solvents (DES) are eutectic mixtures that present a deviation from the ideal thermodynamic solid–liquid phase behavior, where a significant depression in the melting temperature occurs. If properly designed and chosen, DES may be liquid at room and the human body’s temperatures and display a biocompatible character, thus representing relevant options in the pharmaceutical field. Accordingly, DES have been studied as alternative solvents or in formulations of pharmaceuticals to improve their solubility and stability. Depending on the DES components, these mixtures might exhibit interesting biological activities compatible with several applications. The use of DES as functional agents or as novel liquid forms of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API-DES) with the goal of improving bioavailability, permeability and therapeutic efficacy of a given API stands as alternative strategies in the pharmaceutical field for drug delivery purposes.

Unveiling the potential of deep eutectic solvents to improve the conformational and colloidal stability of immunoglobulin G antibodies

“…A large proportion of research has been focused on the application of DESs, with several works showing the use of DESs for the extraction and storage of proteins. 24–26…”

Computer Simulations of Deep Eutectic Solvents: Challenges, Solutions, and Perspectives

“…As discussed in Introduction, DESs have a wide range of applications in pharmaceuticals as solvents, active pharmaceutical ingredients [ 13 ] and cryoprotective agents [ 325 ]. For example, it is well-known that in water solution, urea forms H-bonds with proteins breaking intramolecular protein contacts and causing denaturation [ 326 , 327 , 328 ].…”

“…DESs are often classified as cheap, non-toxic, and environmentally friendly analogues of ionic liquids (ILs); see, e.g., Amde, Liu, and Pang [ 6 ] for a review regarding environmental aspects of ILs. DESs have indeed shown great potential for nanotechnology [ 7 ], electrochemistry [ 8 ], extraction processes [ 9 ], biomass transformation [ 10 ], additive technology [ 11 , 12 ], pharmaceuticals [ 13 , 14 ], biosensor development [ 15 ], membrane technology [ 16 , 17 ], and many other applications.…”

Therapeutic Deep Eutectic Systems towards the Treatment of Tuberculosis and Colorectal Cancer: Opportunities and Challenges

“…Consequently, in the past two decades, the research on safe and environmentally benign solvents has been increasingly growing. Several substances, such as water, ionic liquids (IL), supercritical fluids (SCF), and more recently deep eutectic systems (DES), have been considered as alternative green solvents [5][6][7][8][9]. DES were firstly reported in 2003 by Abbott and co-workers, as a novel class of green solvents with similar performance to IL [7,[10][11][12].…”

“…Choline Chloride:Acetylsalicylic Acid Choline Chloride:Phenylacetic Acid Menthol:Benzoic Acid Menthol:Acetylsalicylic Acid Menthol:Phenylacetic Acid Preparation of THEDES to study their bioavailability [24,25] Menthol:Ibuprofen Incorporation of THEDES with NSAID in a polymeric matrix [26] Choline Chloride:Mandelic Acid THEDES preparation and encapsulation in fiber membranes [27] Choline Chloride:Ascorbic Acid Preparation of NADES and enhancement of dexamethasone solubility [28] Citric Acid:Ethambutol:H 2 O Preparation of THEDES with API for TB [29] Citric Acid:L-Arginine:H 2 O Encapsulation of THEDES in a lipidic carrier [30] Menthol:Lauric Acid Menthol:Myristic Acid Menthol:Stearic Acid Development of THEDES with terpenes and fatty acids with antimicrobial and wound healing properties [31] Lauric Acid:Myristic Acid Preparation of eutectic blends and loading onto gauzes [32] Capric Acid:Lauric acid Capric Acid:Stearic Acid Capric Acid:Myristic Acid Preparation of different DES with fatty acids with antimicrobial activity and biofilm detachment [33] Limonene:ibuprofen Perillyl alcohol:ibuprofen Menthol: ibuprofen Thymol:ibuprofen Preparation of THEDES with terpenes + NSAIDS and evaluation of their activity against CRC cells [34][35][36] The use of THEDES revealed, hence, to be a powerful tool in pharmaceutical sciences enhancing the properties of existing drugs and contributing to the development of new formulations that could be more effective and easily administered [5]. However, this scientific area is still largely unexplored.…”