Good's buffers as a basis for developing self-buffering and biocompatible ionic liquids for biological research

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Materials Science
• Chemical Engineering

Background:

• Ionic liquids (ILs) are versatile solvents but often lack biocompatibility.
• Biological buffers are crucial for maintaining pH in biological systems.
• Developing novel ILs with inherent buffering capacity is essential for advanced biological applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize novel self-buffering and biocompatible ionic liquids derived from Good's buffers (GB-ILs).
• To evaluate the impact of GB-ILs on protein stability and their potential for biomolecule separation.
• To assess the toxicity and applicability of GB-ILs in aqueous biphasic systems.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of 20 Good's buffer ionic liquids (GB-ILs) by neutralizing five Good's buffers with four hydroxide bases.
• pH-profile measurements to ascertain buffering action and formulation of universal buffers.
• Spectroscopic techniques (FTIR, DLS), molecular docking, and QSAR modeling to study protein-GB-IL interactions.
• Toxicity evaluation using *Vibrio fischeri* and assessment of BSA extraction in aqueous biphasic systems.

Main Results:

• Successfully synthesized 20 novel GB-ILs with inherent buffering capabilities.
• GB-ILs demonstrated a greater stabilizing effect on bovine serum albumin (BSA) secondary structure compared to conventional ILs.
• GB-ILs exhibited non-toxicity against *Vibrio fischeri*.
• GB-IL-based aqueous biphasic systems achieved 100% BSA extraction efficiency in a single step.

Conclusions:

• Good's buffer ionic liquids represent a promising class of biocompatible and self-buffering materials for biological research.
• GB-ILs offer superior protein stabilization and efficient biomolecule separation capabilities.
• The developed GB-ILs are non-toxic and suitable for creating advanced separation systems for valuable biomolecules.