Biocompatible Porous Liquids based on Cyclodextrin-MOFs and eutectic solvents – CDeePL

The aim of the CDeePL project is to design new biocompatible Porous Liquids (PLs) able of selectively dissolving target molecules. These innovative materials will be obtained by dispersing Cyclodextrin-Metal-Organic Frameworks (CD-MOFs) in Deep Eutectic Solvents (DESs). The use of biocompatible starting materials (CD-MOFs and DESs) will enlarge the range of applications of PLs, as smart delivery platforms, within the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic sectors. The originality of our approach lies on the never explored combination of the recognized properties of CDs and MOFs, as hosts, with DESs, as liquid media, to form fluids with permanent porosity. These new hybrid materials will be fully characterized by combining structural techniques, analytical investigations, thermodynamics and computational studies. The ability of these novel PLs to act as delivery platforms will be investigated by evaluating their biocompatibility and stability. They will be then evaluated for their ability to solubilize poorly aqueous soluble (i.e. quercetin, resveratrol, ibuprofen) or volatile (i.e. trans-anethole, sevoflurane) molecules used as model bioactive compounds. The release profile of the solubilized compounds will be further examined. The molecular mechanisms involved in the selective solvation of the bioactive compounds will be also assessed theoretically by state-of-the-art molecular simulations. The findings of this project will encourage the use of the obtained tailorable hybrid materials, toward specific applications, notably those that require biocompatibility.