Ionic liquids as a tunable solvent and modifier for biocatalysis

Ionic Liquids in Metal, Photo-, Electro-, and (Bio) Catalysis

Ionic liquids (ILs) have unique physicochemical properties that make them advantageous for catalysis, such as low vapor pressure, non-flammability, high thermal and chemical stabilities, and the ability to enhance the activity and stability of (bio)catalysts. ILs can improve the efficiency, selectivity, and sustainability of bio(transformations) by acting as activators of enzymes, selectively dissolving substrates and products, and reducing toxicity. They can also be recycled and reused multiple times without losing their effectiveness. ILs based on imidazolium cation are preferred for structural organization aspects, with a semiorganized layer surrounding the catalyst. ILs act as a container, providing a confined space that allows modulation of electronic and geometric effects, miscibility of reactants and products, and residence time of species. ILs can stabilize ionic and radical species and control the catalytic activity of dynamic processes. Supported IL phase (SILP) derivatives and polymeric ILs (PILs) are good options for molecular engineering of greener catalytic processes. The major factors governing metal, photo-, electro-, and biocatalysts in ILs are discussed in detail based on the vast literature available over the past two and a half decades. Catalytic reactions, ranging from hydrogenation and cross-coupling to oxidations, promoted by homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts in both single and multiphase conditions, are extensively reviewed and discussed considering the knowledge accumulated until now.

Lysozyme aggregation and unfolding in ionic liquid solvents: Insights from small angle X-ray scattering and high throughput screening

Understanding protein behaviour is crucial for developing functional solvent systems. Ionic liquids (ILs) are designer salts with versatile ion combinations, where some suppress unfavourable protein behaviour. This work utilizes small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) to investigate the size and shape changes of model protein hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL) in 137 IL and salt solutions. Guinier, Kratky, and pair distance distribution analysis were used to evaluate the protein size, shape, and aggregation changes in these solvents. At low IL and salt concentration (1 mol%), HEWL remained monodispersed and globular. Most ILs increased HEWL size compared to buffer, while the nitrate and mesylate anions induced the most significant size increases. IL cation branching, hydroxyl groups, and longer alkyl chains counteracted this size increase. Common salts exhibited specific ion effects, while the IL effect varied with concentration due to complex ion-pairing. Protein aggregation and unfolding occurred at 10 mol% IL, altering the protein shape, especially for ILs with multiple alkyl chains on the cation, or with a mesylate/nitrate anion. This study highlights the usefulness of adopting a high-throughput SAXS strategy for understanding IL effects on protein behaviour and provides insights on controlling protein aggregation and unfolding with ILs.

Structure, aggregation dynamics and crystallization of superfolder green fluorescent protein: Effect of long alkyl chain imidazolium ionic liquids

Green fluorescent protein (GFP) and its variants are widely used in medical and biological research, especially acting as indicators of protein structural integrity, protein-protein interactions and as biosensors. This study employs superfolder GFP (sfGFP) to investigate the impact of varying alkyl chain length of 1-Cn-3-methylimidazolium chloride ionic liquid (IL) series ([Cnmim]Cl, n = 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12) on the protein fluorescence, structure, hydration, aggregation dynamics and crystallization behaviour. The results revealed a concentration-dependent decrease in the sfGFP chromophore fluorescence, particularly in long alkyl chain ILs ([C10mim]Cl and [C12mim]Cl). Tryptophan (Trp) fluorescence showed the quenching rate increased with longer alkyl chains indicating a nonpolar interaction between Trp57 and the alkyl chain. Secondary structural changes were observed at the high IL concentration of 1.5 M in [C10mim]Cl and [C12mim]Cl. Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) indicated relatively stable protein sizes, but with IL aggregates present in [C10mim]Cl and [C12mim]Cl solutions. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) data showed increased protein size and aggregation with longer alkyl chain ILs. Notably, ILs and salts, excluding [C2mim]Cl, promoted sfGFP crystallization. This study emphasizes the influence of the cation alkyl chain length and concentration on protein stability and aggregation, providing insights into utilizing IL solvents for protein stabilization and crystallization purposes.

Probing ion-binding at a protein interface: Modulation of protein properties by ionic liquids

Ions are important to modulate protein properties, including solubility and stability, through specific ion effects. Ionic liquids (ILs) are designer salts with versatile ion combinations with great potential to control protein properties. Although protein-ion binding of common metals is well-known, the IL effect on proteins is not well understood. Here, we employ the model protein lysozyme in dilute and concentrated IL solutions to determine the specific ion binding effect on protein phase behaviour, activity, size and conformational change, aggregation and intermolecular interactions. A combination of spectroscopic techniques, activity assays, small-angle X-ray scattering, and crystallography highlights that ILs, particularly their anions, bind to specific sites in the protein hydration layer via polar contacts on charged, polar and aromatic residues. The specific ion binding can induce more flexible loop regions in lysozyme, while the ion binding in the bulk phase can be more dynamic in solution. Overall, the protein behaviour in ILs depends on the net effect of nonspecific interactions and specific ion binding. Compared to formate, the nitrate anion induced high protein solubility, low activity, elongated shape and aggregation, which is largely owing to its higher propensity for ion binding. These findings provide new insights into protein-IL binding interactions and using ILs to modulate protein properties.

Small angle X-ray scattering investigation of ionic liquid effect on the aggregation behavior of globular proteins

Globular proteins are well-folded model proteins, where ions can substantially influence their structure and aggregation. Ionic liquids (ILs) are salts in the liquid state with versatile ion combinations. Understanding the IL effect on protein behavior remains a major challenge. Here, we employed small angle X-ray scattering to investigate the effect of aqueous ILs on the structure and aggregation of globular proteins, namely, hen egg white lysozyme (Lys), human lysozyme (HLys), myoglobin (Mb), β-lactoglobulin (βLg), trypsin (Tryp) and superfolder green fluorescent protein (sfGFP). The ILs contain ammonium-based cations paired with the mesylate, acetate or nitrate anion. Results showed that only Lys was monomeric, whereas the other proteins formed small or large aggregates in buffer. Solutions with over 17 mol% IL resulted in significant changes in the protein structure and aggregation. The Lys structure was expanded at 1 mol% but compact at 17 mol% with structural changes in loop regions. HLys formed small aggregates, with the IL effect similar to Lys. Mb and βLg mostly had distinct monomer and dimer distributions depending on IL type and IL concentration. Complex aggregation was noted for Tryp and sfGFP. While the anion had the largest ion effect, changing the cation also induced the structural expansion and protein aggregation.

Tuning Functionalized Ionic Liquids for CO2 Capture

The increasing concentration of CO₂ in the atmosphere is related to global climate change. Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) is an important technology to reduce CO₂ emissions and to deal with global climate change. The development of new materials and technologies for efficient CO₂ capture has received increasing attention among global researchers. Ionic liquids (ILs), especially functionalized ILs, with such unique properties as almost no vapor pressure, thermal- and chemical-stability, non-flammability, and tunable properties, have been used in CCUS with great interest. This paper focuses on the development of functionalized ILs for CO₂ capture in the past decade (2012~2022). Functionalized ILs, or task-specific ILs, are ILs with active sites on cations or/and anions. The main contents include three parts: cation-functionalized ILs, anion-functionalized ILs, and cation-anion dual-functionalized ILs for CO₂ capture. In addition, classification, structures, and synthesis of functionalized ILs are also summarized. Finally, future directions, concerns, and prospects for functionalized ILs in CCUS are discussed. This review is beneficial for researchers to obtain an overall understanding of CO₂-philic ILs. This work will open a door to develop novel IL-based solvents and materials for the capture and separation of other gases, such as SO₂, H₂S, NOx, NH₃, and so on.