Solute Partitioning in Aqueous Biphasic Systems Composed of Polyethylene Glycol and Salt: The Partitioning of Small Neutral Organic Species

A new aqueous biphasic system containing polypropylene glycol and a water-miscible ionic liquid

In this work, we proposed a novel aqueous biphasic system (ABS) composed of polypropylene glycol P400 (PPG P400) and hydrophilic ionic liquids (IL), 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide (alkyl = ethyl or butyl), forming an upper polymer-rich phase and a lower IL-rich phase at ambient temperature. This new ABS can present interesting characteristics shared by ILs and polymers such as low volatility, good solvation ability, tunable physical properties, and high design capacity for achieving task-specific phase components to enhance the partitioning of target species. Ternary phase diagram of the novel ABS formed by PPG 400 and [C(2) mim]Br in water was measured at T = 298.15 K. Factors affecting the binodal curves such as the cation side alkyl chain length and the temperature were also evaluated. The results were successfully interpreted in terms of the kosmotropic/chaotropic nature of ILs. Furthermore, the phase behavior of the PPG-[C(2) mim]Br ABS is described by the NRTL model. Finally, the extraction potential of the proposed ABS was evaluated through its application to the extraction of the essential amino acids such as L-tryptophan and L-tyrosine. The partition coefficients here obtained demonstrated the fine potential of the proposed ABS for biomolecules separation.

Solvent properties governing protein partitioning in polymer/polymer aqueous two-phase systems

Distribution coefficients of various proteins were measured in aqueous Dextran-Ficoll, Dextran-PES, and Ficoll-PES two-phase systems, containing 0.15M NaCl in 0.01 M phosphate buffer, pH 7.4. The acquired data were combined with data for the same proteins in different systems reported previously and known solvatochromic solvent properties of the systems to characterize the protein-solvent interactions. The relative susceptibilities of proteins to solvent dipolarity/polarizability, solvent hydrogen bond acidity, solvent hydrogen bond basicity, and solvent ability to participate in ion-ion and ion-dipole interactions were characterized. These parameters, which are representative of solute-solvent interactions, adequately described the partitioning of the proteins in each system. It was found that the relative susceptibilities of proteins to solvent dipolarity/polarizability are interrelated with their relative susceptibilities to solvent hydrogen bond acidity and solvent hydrogen bond basicity similarly to those established previously for small nonionic organic compounds.

Extraction of trace acetylspiramycin in real aqueous environments using aqueous two-phase system of ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate and phosphate

The partitioning of acetylspiramycin was carried out in an aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) formed by a hydrophilic ionic liquid (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoraborate, [Bmim]BF4) and NaH2PO4. This ATPS is a simple, non-toxic and effective sample pretreatment technique, which was developed for the simultaneous separation, enrichment and rapid analysis of acetylspiramycin coupled with molecular fluorescence spectrophotometry. Analysis of the liquid-liquid equilibrium of [Bmim]BF4-salt ATPS demonstrated that the salting-out ability of different salts may be related to the Gibbs energy of hydration of the ions. The effects of types of salts, concentration of NaH2PO4, and temperature were analysed. Under optimum conditions, the average extraction efficiency and partition coefficient were 90.14% and 91.1, respectively. Thermodynamic functions provide some information about the molecular mechanism involved in acetylspiramycin transfer to the top phase, suggesting an important acetylspiramycin-[Bmim]BF4 interaction. The method yielded a linear range in the concentration from 1.0 to 10.0 µg mL−1 of acetylspiramycin, and the limit of detection was 0.02 µg mL−1. This method could be successfully applied for the analysis of acetylspiramycin in lake water, river water and groundwater. The proposed extraction technique appears to be suitable as a first step for the separation of macrolide antibiotics from real aqueous environments.

Phase behavior for ternary systems composed of ionic liquid+saccharides+water

In this work, we proposed a new aqueous biphasic system composed of hydrophilic ionic liquids (IL, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate) and saccharides, forming an upper IL-rich phase and a lower sugars-rich phase. It was found that that the distance between binodal curves and the origin is the increasing order of sucrose<glucose<xylose<fructose, which was successfully elaborated in terms of the stereochemistry of saccharides and hydration models. Compared with the IL+inorganic salts systems, the proposed systems are more environmentally benign for separating IL from the aqueous phase.

"On the Collander equation": protein partitioning in polymer/polymer aqueous two-phase systems

Distribution coefficients of randomly selected proteins were measured in aqueous two-phase systems (ATPSs) formed by different combinations of Dextran-75 (Dex), Ficoll-70, polyethylene glycol-8000 (PEG), hydroxypropyl starch-100 (PES), and Ucon50HB5100 (Ucon, a random copolymer of ethylene glycol and propylene glycol) at particular polymer concentrations, all containing 0.15M NaCl in 0.01 M phosphate buffer, pH 7.4. Most of the proteins in the PEG-Ucon system precipitated at the interface. In the other ATPSs, namely, PES-PEG, PES-Ucon, Ficoll-PEG, Ficoll-Ucon, and in Dex-PEG and Dex-Ucon described earlier the distribution coefficients for the proteins were correlated according to the solvent regression equation: lnKi=aiolnKo+bio, where Ki and Ko are the distribution coefficients for any protein in the ith and oth two-phase systems. Coefficients aio and bio are constants, the values of which depend upon the particular compositions of the two-phase systems under comparison.

DeltaG(CH2) as solvent descriptor in polymer/polymer aqueous two-phase systems

Phase diagrams were determined for aqueous two-phase systems (ATPSs) formed by different paired combinations of Dextran (Dex-75), Ficoll-70, polyethylene glycol (PEG-8000), hydroxypropyl starch (PES-100), and Ucon50HB5100 (a random copolymer of ethylene glycol and propylene glycol) all containing 0.15M NaCl in 0.01M phosphate buffer, pH 7.4, at 23 degrees C. Partition coefficients of a series of dinitrophenylated (DNP) amino acids with aliphatic side-chains were studied in all the ATPSs at particular polymer concentrations. Free energies of transfer of a methylene group between the coexisting phases, DeltaG(CH(2)), were determined as measures of the difference between the hydrophobic character of the phases. Furthermore, partition coefficients of tryptophan (Trp) and its di- and tri-peptides and a set of p-nitrophenyl (NP)-monosaccharides were measured in all the two-phase systems, and the data obtained compared with the DeltaG(CH(2)) values obtained in the systems. It was established that for eight out of 10 of two-phase systems of different polymer compositions the partition coefficients for Trp peptides correlate well with the DeltaG(CH(2)) values. Similar correlations for NP-monosaccharides were valid for seven out of 10 two-phase systems. These observations indicate that the difference between the hydrophobic characters of the coexisting phases represented by the DeltaG(CH(2)) value cannot be used as a single universal measure for comparison of the ATPSs of different polymer compositions.

Extraction of testosterone and epitestosterone in human urine using aqueous two-phase systems of ionic liquid and salt

Based on aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS) consisting of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride, a hydrophilic ionic liquid (IL), and K2HPO4, a new and simple extraction technique, coupled with a reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC), was developed for the simultaneous concentration and analysis of testosterone (T) and epitestosterone (ET) in human urine. Under the optimal conditions, the extraction efficiencies for both analytes were 80-90% in a one-step extraction. The method required only 3.0 mL of urine and a single hydrolysis/deproteinization/extraction step followed by direct injection of the IL-rich upper phase into HPLC system for analysis. The method has been satisfactorily applied to the analysis of T and ET in human urine with detection limits of 1 ng/mL and linear ranges of 10-500 ng/mL for both compounds. Compared with conventional liquid-liquid extraction or solid phase extraction, this new method is much "greener" due to no use of volatile organic solvent and low consumption of IL. The proposed extraction technique opens up new possibilities in the separation of other drugs.

Comparison of an Empirical and a Theoretical Linear Solvation Energy Relationship Applied to the Characterization of Solute Distribution in a Poly(ethylene) Glycol-Salt Aqueous Biphasic System

A Linear Solvation Energy Relationship (LSER) developed by Abraham has been applied to the partition of organic solutes in an Aqueous Biphasic System (ABS) and to published values of their 1-octanol/water partition coefficients. The results are compared to the application of a conceptually similar Theoretical Linear Solvation Energy Relationship (TLSER) developed by Famini and co-workers. Differences and similarities in the molecular properties highlighted by each LSER are discussed. The theoretical relationship of Famini, although modeled on the approach of Abraham, seems not to encapsulate molecular properties in the same way as the Abraham's empirical relationship. However, this theoretical approach has the great merit of computational simplicity, and it is concluded that efforts directed toward its improvement could be rewarding.