Ionic liquids and Bio...stuff. A match made in heaven or hell?

Jason HALLETT^1
1Imperial College, London, United Kingdom

Ionic liquids (ILs) have proven to be highly tunable ‘designer solvents’ capable of a wide range of exciting chemistries, some of which are inaccessible in water or traditional organic solvents. However, industrial applications have been hampered by several innate challenges, including high cost, high viscosity, unknown materials properties and the “mystique” of a liquid salt. These properties are, nominally, tunable features also – provided the ion selection is handled with a careful eye aimed at the feature in question. Some of these properties possess more range for tunability than others.

In this presentation, I will review the key recent advances of ionic liquids in the areas of biomaterials, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. These will include coverage of recent advances in biomaterial production, pharmaceutical formulation and delivery and cosmetic agents made from or in or with ionic liquids. Some of the key challenges to commercialization will be highlighted and hopefully set the scene for the next phase of ionic liquid development.