Room-Temperature Ionic Liquids Meet Bio-Membranes: the State-of-the- Art

TL;DR

This paper reviews the interactions between room-temperature ionic liquids and bio-membranes, highlighting their potential applications and health hazards, and emphasizes the need for case-by-case toxicity assessment and future research directions.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of current research on RTILs and bio-membranes, discussing mechanisms of toxicity and potential biomedical applications.

Findings

RTIL toxicity correlates with lipo-philicity and chemical structure.

Cation chain length and anion type influence RTIL bio-interactions.

RTILs may have beneficial roles in pharmacology and bio-nano-technology.

Abstract

Room-temperature ionic liquids (RTIL) are a new class of organic salts whose melting temperature falls below the conventional limit of 100C. Their low vapor pressure, moreover, has made these ionic compounds the solvents of choice of the so-called green chemistry. For these and other peculiar characteristics, they are increasingly used in industrial applications. However, studies of their interaction with living organisms have highlighted mild to severe health hazards. Since their cytotoxicity shows a positive correlation with their lipo-philicity, several chemical-physical studies of their interaction with biomembranes have been carried out in the last few years, aiming to identify the microscopic mechanisms behind their toxicity. Cation chain length and anion nature have been seen to affect the lipo-philicity and, in turn, the toxicity of RTILs. The emerging picture, however, raises new questions, points to the need to assess toxicity on a case-by-case basis, but also suggests a potential positive role of RTILs in pharmacology, bio-medicine, and, more in general, bio-nano-technology. Here, we review this new subject of research, and comment on the future and the potential importance of this new field of study.