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Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are novel ‘green’ solvents that have recently gained considerable interest from the scientific community in different sectors. They are considered ...biocompatible, chemically stable, biodegradable, low volatile, and also non-flammable. The physicochemical properties of DESs are highly tunable and can be customized to meet the needs of a particular mission. A new category of DESs, referred to as hydrophobic DESs (HDESs), is considered to be a promising subclass of traditional DESs to resolve the issue of instability their contact with water. The HDESs have been extensively studied for the isolation and extraction of volatile fatty acids, heavy metals, and bioactive compounds from aqueous solutions. However, the HDESs remain briefly addressed in the literature. This review report therefore summarizes the ground-breaking and innovative efforts of the HDESs, including their properties and applications, which have so far been lacking in scientific literature. In addition, the prospects of HDES application in medicine (e.g., control of COVID-19 pandemic) are also highlighted. To end, remarks and possible perspectives are highlighted and concluded in detail.
The widespread use of disposable face masks as a preventative strategy to address transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has been a key environmental concern since the pandemic began. This has led to ...an unprecedented new form of contamination from improperly disposed masks, which liberates significant amounts of heavy metals and toxic chemicals in addition to volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Therefore, this study monitored the liberation of heavy metals, VOCs, and microfibers from submerged disposable face masks at different pH (4, 7 and 12), to simulate distinct environmental conditions. Lead (3.238% ppb), cadmium (0.672 ppb) and chromium (0.786 ppb) were found in the analyzed leachates. By pyrolysis, 2,4-dimethylhept-1-ene and 4-methylheptane were identified as the VOCs produced by the samples. The chemically degraded morphology in the FESEM images provided further evidence that toxic heavy metals and volatile organic compounds had been leached from the submerged face masks, with greater degradation observed in samples submerged at pH 7 and higher. The results are seen to communicate the comparable danger of passively degrading disposable face masks and the release of micro- or nanofibers into the marine environment. The toxicity of certain heavy metals and chemicals released from discarded face masks warrants better, more robust manufacturing protocols and increased public awareness for responsible disposal to reduce the adverse impact on ecology and human health.
The application of graphene in the field of drug delivery has attracted massive interest among researchers. However, the high toxicity of graphene has been a drawback for its use in drug delivery. ...Therefore, to enhance the biocompatibility of graphene, a new route was developed using ternary natural deep eutectic solvents (DESs) as functionalizing agents, which have the capability to incorporate various functional groups and surface modifications. Physicochemical characterization analyses, including field emission scanning electron microscope, fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, Brunauer−Emmett−Teller, X-ray diffraction, and energy dispersive X-ray, were used to verify the surface modifications introduced by the functionalization process. Doxorubicin was loaded onto the DES-functionalized graphene. The results exhibited significantly improved drug entrapment efficiency (EE) and drug loading capacity (DLC) compared with pristine graphene and oxidized graphene. Compared with unfunctionalized graphene, functionalization with DES choline chloride (ChCl):sucrose:water (4:1:4) resulted in the highest drug loading capacity (EE of 51.84% and DLC of 25.92%) followed by DES ChCl:glycerol:water (1:2:1) (EE of 51.04% and DLC of 25.52%). Following doxorubicin loading, graphene damaged human breast cancer cell line (MCF-7) through the generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (>95%) and cell cycle disruption by increase in the cell population at S phase and G2/M phase. Thus, DESs represent promising green functionalizing agents for nanodrug carriers. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that DES-functionalized graphene has been used as a nanocarrier for doxorubicin, illustrating the potential application of DESs as functionalizing agents in drug delivery systems.
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The field of green technology is evolving rapidly to address new industrial challenges, and deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have emerged as a potential alternative to traditional ...organic compounds and ionic liquids. Among their main classes, magnetic DESs (MagDESs) have gained significant attention due to their unique magnetic properties resulting from the presence of magnetic ions in the solvent. The unique magnetic properties of MagDESs, combined with their stability and compatibility, make them suitable for various applications, including magnetic separation and purification. The ease of separation of MagDESs from their respective mixtures via the application of an external magnetic field distinguishes them as a desirable solution, enabling quick extraction and easy collection without centrifugation. Moreover, DESs can serve to endow magnetic materials with new functionalities for a wide range of applications. Utilizing DESs enables the functionalization of magnetic materials without the use of volatile organic solvents or extended processing periods. MagDESs are expected to be used in the extraction of various compounds, but there are some limitations that must be considered, such as compatibility issues, recovery difficulty, and also long-term stability and sustainability of MagDESs in different environments and applications. Further research and development are necessary to fully understand and optimize the benefits and limitations of MagDESs.
In this study, imidazole was used for the first time in esterification of free fatty acid (FFA) from acidic oil and for palmitic acid imidazole production. The FFA content in jatropha oil mixed with ...crude palm oil (CPO) was significantly reduced from 10.57% to 1.73% under the following optimum conditions (25% imidazole dosage, 30 mins of reaction time, reaction temperature at 60 °C and methanol to oil molar ratio of 20:1). This research opens up new possibilities for utilizing imidazole as a catalyst in various esterification processes, offering a promising and eco-friendly pathway for industrial applications.
With the rapid development of ionic liquid analogues, termed ‘deep eutectic solvents’ (DESs), and their application in a wide range of chemical and biochemical processes in the past decade, the ...extraction of bioactive compounds has attracted significant interest. Recently, numerous studies have explored the extraction of bioactive compounds using DESs from diverse groups of natural sources, including animal and plant sources. This review summarizes the-state-of-the-art effort dedicated to the application of DESs in the extraction of bioactive compounds. The aim of this review also was to introduce conventional and recently-developed extraction techniques, with emphasis on the use of DESs as potential extractants for various bioactive compounds, such as phenolic acid, flavonoids, tanshinone, keratin, tocols, terpenoids, carrageenans, xanthones, isoflavones, α-mangostin, genistin, apigenin, and others. In the near future, DESs are expected to be used extensively for the extraction of bioactive compounds from various sources.
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•Deep eutectic solvents (DES) have drawn significant attention in the last decade.•DES have distinctive physicochemical properties and chemical characteristics.•Recently, DES have been introduced as promising extractants for bioactive compounds.•This is the first comprehensive review aims to cover this research field.•DESs are expected to play a pivotal role in the extraction of bioactive compounds.
Polysaccharides isolated from mushrooms have recently attracted attention due to its potential immune-stimulatory activity. The aim of this study was to validate the in vitro immune-stimulatory ...activities of various mushroom extracts. The 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay revealed that Pleurotus eryngii, with the highest β-glucan (18.94%) content, displayed highest viability on macrophage cells of 62.59% at 200 μg/ml concentration. Pleurotus cystidiosus, with 18.16% β-glucan, content showed highest activation of NF-kB (0.7 µg/ml) at a concentration of 100 µg/ml. Termitomyces heimii, with the lowest percentage of β-glucan (0.51%), exhibited highest phagocytosis index of 9.38 at 12.5 µg/ml. The brown strain of Agaricus bisporus with 1.54% of β-glucan stimulates the highest nitric oxide (NO) production of 12.39 µM nitrite oxide at 100 µg/ml. This study revealed that hot water extracts of mushrooms have different β-glucan contents and produced varying immune-stimulatory activities. Among these, Pleurotus spp. demonstrated the highest percentage of β-glucan content and viability of macrophage cells. Pleurotus spp. are deemed immune-stimulatory by increasing phagocytic activity, NO production, and triggered the activation of NF-kB.
Deep eutectic solvents (DES) are an alternative to conventional functionalizing agents. These neoteric functionalizing agents have been reported to improve the dispersibility and biocompatibility of ...graphene in the cellular environment. DES-functionalized graphene also has significantly greater tamoxifen (TAM)-loading capacity than non-functionalized graphene. Therefore, this study investigated the anti-cancer properties of TAM-loaded graphene against cancerous cells. TAM-loaded, DES-functionalized graphene showed a significant increase in anti-cancer activity, especially in the case of DES ChCl:fructose (2:1), as validated by cell viability, reactive oxygen species, and cell cycle progression assays. The cytotoxicity profile of TAM-loaded graphene against cancerous cells was confirmed by real-time cell growth analysis. Across all tested cellular kinetic models, the most significant reduction in the growth rate constant of cancerous cells was obtained using graphene functionalized with DES ChCl:fructose (2:1). All told, DES-functionalized graphene demonstrated improved anti-cancer activity compared to non-functionalized graphene.
A novel greener MNC/PES membrane was developed through an electrospinning technique for lipase immobilization to catalyze the synthesis of ethyl valerate (EV). In this study, the covalent ...immobilization of
lipase (AOL) onto an electrospun nanofibrous membrane consisting of magnetic nanocellulose (MNC) and polyethersulfone (PES) to produce EV was statistically optimized. Raman spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy: attenuated total reflection, field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential thermal gravimetric (DTG) of MNC/PES-AOL demonstrated that AOL was successfully immobilized onto the fibers. The Taguchi design-assisted immobilization of AOL onto MNC/PES fibers identified that 1.10 mg/mL protein loading, 4 mL reaction volume, 250 rpm stirring rate, and 50 °C were optimal to yield 72.09% of EV in 24 h. The thermal stability of MNC/PES-AOL was improved by ≈20% over the free AOL, with reusability for up to five consecutive esterification cycles while demonstrating an exceptional half-life of 120 h. Briefly, the electrospun MNC/PES fibers that immobilized AOL showed promising applicability in yielding relatively good EV levels. This study suggests that using MNC as fillers in a PES to improve AOL activity and durability for a longer catalytic process could be a viable option.
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The applications of eutectic systems, including deep eutectic solvents (DESs), in diverse sectors have drawn significant interest from researchers, academicians, engineers, medical ...scientists, and pharmacists. Eutecticity increases drug dissolution, improves drug penetration, and acts as a synthesis route for drug carriers. To date, DESs have been extensively explored as potential drug delivery systems on account of their unique properties such as tunability and chemical and thermal stability. This review discusses two major topics: first, the application of eutectic mixtures (before and after the introduction of DES) in the field of drug delivery systems, and second, the most promising examples of DES pharmaceutical activity. It also considers future prospects in the medical and biotechnological fields. In addition to the application of DESs in drug delivery systems, they show greatly promising pharmaceutical activities, including anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-cancer activities. Eutecticity is a valid strategy for overcoming many obstacles inherently associated with either introducing new drugs or enhancing drug delivery systems.
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