Ionic Liquids as Pharmaceutically Active Molecules

This project proposes to conduct a fundamental study of the chemistry of ionic liquids (ILs) and deep eutectic solvents (DESs) in relation to active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). Pharmaceutical products are typically isolated as crystalline materials which this leads to key problems, including poor solubility, low thermal stability and polymorphism which in turn diminish therapeutic efficiency by reducing bioavailability. A second challenge is the rise of antimicrobial resistance, creating one of the biggest threats to global health (WHO) The biofilms in bacteria give rise to antibiotic resistance and the treatment of skin based bacterial biofilms is a significant challenge. ILs/DESs can create unique charge distributed environments that deliver enhanced and optimised solubility for APIs. The most exciting recent advances are that ILs/DESs provide both enhanced transdermal delivery of APIs as well as having broad spectrum antimicrobial activity, key in a time of increasingly resistant infections. As yet there is no fundamental molecular understanding of IL/DES-API interactions. Specifically this project will use quantum chemical (QC) methods to examine the short range molecule to molecule interactions. The project will employ state-of-the-art analysis techniques and focus on area where QC excels; bonding interactions, charge distribution and H-bonding.