Over the last few decades, Ionic Liquids (ILs) and Deep Eutectic Solvents (DES) have been studied academically throughout many fields of chemical and biological research, including pharmaceutical sciences, due to their highly tunable physical, chemical and physicochemical properties. In pharmaceutics, ILs have been studied as alternative solvents for the preparation, purification and crystallization of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). However, the tailorable properties of ILs and DES render them distinct interactions with cellular membranes and organelles, enabling a myriad of applications ranging from bactericidal agents against pathological microorganisms to innovative materials for transdermal drug and protein delivery. ILs and DES have also found use in the manipulation of naturally occurring matrices such as polysaccharides, yielding outstanding materials suitable for tissue regeneration and wound healing, as well as gene and drug delivery. Furthermore, the formation of ILs by a combination of ionizable APIs with biocompatible organic counter-ions (API-ILs) has shown striking evidence over the last decade as a very capable instrument to enhance the bioavailability of poorly water and/or lipid-soluble drugs, in addition to reduce or even eliminate polymorphism, yielding more effective formulations of commercial drugs.
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