Percorrer por autor "Freire, Mara G."
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- Analysis of the isomerism effect on the mutual solubilities of bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide-based ionic liquids with waterPublication . Martins, Mónia A.R.; Neves, Catarina M.S.S.; Kurnia, Kiki A.; Santos, Luís M.N.B.F.; Freire, Mara G.; Pinho, Simão; Coutinho, João A.P.The knowledge of the liquid-liquid equilibria (LLE) between ionic liquids (ILs) and water is of utmost importance for environmental monitoring, process design and optimization. Therefore, in this work, the mutual solubilities with water, for the ILs combining the 1-methylimidazolium, [C(1)im](+); 1-ethylimidazolium, [C(2)im](+); 1-ethyl-3-propylimidazolium, [C(2)C(3)im](+); and 1-butyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium, [C(4)C(1)C(1)im](+) cations with the bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide anion, were determined and compared with the isomers of the symmetric 1,3-dialkylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([C(n)C(n)im][NTf2], with n=1-3) and of the asymmetric 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([C(n)C(1)im][NTf2], with n = 2-5) series of ILs. The results obtained provide a broad picture of the impact of the IL cation structural isomerism, including the number of alkyl side chains at the cation, on the water-IL mutual solubilities. Despite the hydrophobic behaviour associated to the [NTf2](-) anion, the results show a significant solubility of water in the IL-rich phase, while the solubility of ILs in the water-rich phase is much lower. The thermodynamic properties of solution indicate that the solubility of ILs in water is entropically driven and highly influenced by the cation size. Using the results obtained here in addition to literature data, a correlation between the solubility of [NTf2]-based ILs in water and their molar volume, for a large range of cations, is proposed. The COnductor like Screening MOdel for Real Solvents (COSMO-RS) was also used to estimate the LLE of the investigated systems and proved to be a useful predictive tool for the a priori screening of ILs aiming at finding suitable candidates before extensive experimental measurements.
- Densities, viscosities and derived thermophysical properties of water-saturated imidazolium-based ionic liquidsPublication . Martins, Mónia A.R.; Neves, Catarina M.S.S.; Kurnia, Kiki A.; Carvalho, Pedro J.; Rocha, Marisa A.A.; Santos, Luís M.N.B.F.; Pinho, Simão; Freire, Mara G.In order to evaluate the impact of the alkyl side chain length and symmetry of the cation on the thermophysical properties of water-saturated ionic liquids (ILs), densities and viscosities as a function of temperature were measured at atmospheric pressure and in the (298.15 to 363.15) K temperature range, for systems containing two series of bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide-based compounds: the symmetric [C n C n im][NTf2] (with n = 1-8 and 10) and asymmetric [C n C1im][NTf2] (with n = 2-5, 7, 9 and 11) ILs. For water-saturated ILs, the density decreases with the increase of the alkyl side chain length while the viscosity increases with the size of the aliphatic tails. The saturation water solubility in each IL was further estimated with a reasonable agreement based on the densities of water-saturated ILs, further confirming that for the ILs investigated the volumetric mixing properties of ILs and water follow a near ideal behaviour. The water-saturated symmetric ILs generally present lower densities and viscosities than their asymmetric counterparts. From the experimental data, the isobaric thermal expansion coefficient and energy barrier were also estimated. A close correlation between the difference in the energy barrier values between the water-saturated and pure ILs and the water content in each IL was found, supporting that the decrease in the viscosity of ILs in presence of water is directly related with the decrease of the energy barrier.
- Enhanced Antimalarial Activity of Extracts of Artemisia annua L. Achieved with Aqueous Solutions of Salicylate Salts and Ionic LiquidsPublication . Ferreira, Ana M.; Sales, Isabela; Santos, Sónia A.O.; Santos, Tiago; Nogueira, Fátima; Mattedi, Silvana; Pinho, Simão; Coutinho, João A.P.; Freire, Mara G.Artemisinin, a drug used to treat malaria, can be chemically synthesized or extracted from Artemisia annua L. However, the extraction method for artemisinin from biomass needs to be more sustainable while maintaining or enhancing its bioactivity. This work investigates the use of aqueous solutions of salts and ionic liquids with hydrotropic properties as alternative solvents for artemisinin extraction from Artemisia annua L. Among the investigated solvents, aqueous solutions of cholinium salicylate and sodium salicylate were found to be the most promising. To optimize the extraction process, a response surface method was further applied, in which the extraction time, hydrotrope concentration, and temperature were optimized. The optimized conditions resulted in extraction yields of up to 6.50 and 6.44 mg·g-1, obtained with aqueous solutions of sodium salicylate and cholinium salicylate, respectively. The extracts obtained were tested for their antimalarial activity, showing a higher efficacy against the Plasmodium falciparum strain compared with pure (synthetic) artemisinin or extracts obtained with conventional organic solvents. Characterization of the extracts revealed the presence of artemisinin together with other compounds, such as artemitin, chrysosplenol D, arteannuin B, and arteannuin J. These compounds act synergistically with artemisinin and enhance the antimalarial activity of the obtained extracts. Given the growing concern about artemisinin resistance, the results here obtained pave the way for the development of sustainable and biobased antimalarial drugs. © 2024 The Authors. Co-published by Zhejiang University and American Chemical Society.
- Enhancing artemisinin solubility in aqueous solutions: searching for hydrotropes based on ionic liquidsPublication . Sales, Isabela; Abranches, Dinis O.; Costa, Pedro; Sintra, Tânia E.; Ventura, Sónia P.M.; Mattedi, Silvana; Coutinho, João A.P.; Freire, Mara G.; Pinho, SimãoArtemisinin is a sesquiterpenoid lactone peroxide, known for its potent antimalarial activity that can be extracted from Artemisia annua L. This compound is only sparingly soluble in water, making its extraction using environmental-friendly and non-toxic aqueous solvents difficult. In the attempt to overcome this limitation, hydrotropes, which are a class of compounds that can assist in increasing the solubility of hydrophobic solutes in water, were investigated in this work. In particular, the hydrotropic capability of ionic liquids (ILs) on the aqueous solubility of artemisinin was studied. The effects of IL concentration and anion nature of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium-based ILs on the solubility of artemisinin at 303.2 K in water were evaluated. It is here shown the excellent capacity of ILs containing thiocyanate or dicyanamide anions to enhance the solubility of artemisinin in aqueous media, with a magnitude comparable to that obtained with the best organic solvents. Furthermore, solvatochromic parameters of the ILs aqueous solutions were also measured and combined with COSMO-RS and the cooperative hydrotropy model to establish relations between the artemisinin solubility enhancement and the solvent characteristics. The solubility enhancement of artemisinin is favored by the apolarity of the medium and the lower hydrogen-bond acceptor character of the hydrotrope.
- Impact of the cation symmetry on the mutual solubilities between water and imidazolium-based ionic liquidsPublication . Martins, Mónia A.R.; Neves, Catarina M.S.S.; Kurnia, Kiki A.; Luís, Andreia; Santos, Luís M.N.B.F.; Freire, Mara G.; Pinho, Simão; Coutinho, João A.P.Aiming at the evaluation of the impact of the ionic liquids (ILs) cation symmetry on their phase behaviour, in this work, novel mutual solubilities with water of the symmetric series of [C(n)C(n)im][NTf2] (with n=1-5) were determined and compared with their isomeric forms of the asymmetric [C(n)C(1)im][NTf2] group. While the solubility of isomeric ILs in water was found to be similar, the solubility of water in ILs follows the same trend up to a maximum cation alkyl side chain length. For n >= 4 in [C(n)C(n)im][NTf2] the solubility of water in the asymmetric ILs is slightly higher than that observed in the symmetric counterparts. The thermodynamic properties of solution and solvation derived from the experimental solubility data of ILs in water at infinite dilution, namely the Gibbs energy, enthalpy and entropy were used to evaluate the cation symmetry effect on the ILs solvation. It is shown that the solubility of ILs in water is entropically driven and highly influenced by the cation size. Accordingly, it was found that the ILs solubility in water of both symmetric and asymmetric series depends on their molecular volume. Based on these findings, a linear correlation between the logarithm of the solubility of ILs in water and their molar volume is here proposed for the [NTf2]-based ILs at a fixed temperature.
- Selection of hydrotropes for enhancing the solubility of artemisinin in aqueous solutionsPublication . Sales, Isabela; Abranches, Dinis O.; Sintra, Tânia E.; Mattedi, Silvana; Freire, Mara G.; Coutinho, João A.P.; Pinho, SimãoArtemisinin is an antimalarial substance very sparingly soluble in water. In the attempt to identify environmental-friendly and non-toxic aqueous-based solvents to extract it from Artemisia annua L., the solubility of artemisinin in aqueous solutions of different hydrotropes was measured at 303.2 K, for hydrotrope concentrations up to 5 M. The ability of the studied hydrotropes for enhancing the artemisinin solubility increases in the following order: Na[N(CN)2] < Na[SCN] < [Chol][Van] < [Chol][Gal] < [N4,4,4,4]Cl < [Chol][Sal] < [P4,4,4,4]Cl < Na[Sal], with Na[Sal] allowing an increase in the solubility of 750 fold compared to pure water. The COSMO-RS model and experimental Kamlet-Taft solvatochromic parameters were applied to connect the solubility enhancement with solvent properties. At low hydrotrope concentration, the solubility increases with the decreasing of the difference between the Apolar Factors of the hydrotrope and artemisinin, while for higher hydrotrope concentration, the hydrogen-bond acceptor character of the hydrotrope seems to have an impact on the solubility enhancement. Even if some mechanistic understanding is still to unfold, quantitatively the empirical correlations of solubility enhancement with the hydrotrope concentration and the solvatochromic parameters show very high accuracy. In particular, 93% of the change on the artemisinin solubility enhancement could be explained using the hydrotrope concentration and two combined solvatochromic parameters (αβ and π∗2) as explaining variables.
- Solubility and solvation of monosaccharides in ionic liquidsPublication . Teles, Ana Rita R.; Dinis, Teresa B.V.; Capela, Emanuel V.; Santos, Luís M.N.B.F.; Pinho, Simão; Freire, Mara G.; Coutinho, João A.P.Herein, solubility experimental data for six monosaccharides, viz. D-(+)-glucose, D-(+)-mannose, D-(-)-fructose, D-(+)-galactose, D-(+)-xylose and L-(+)-arabinose, in four ionic liquids (ILs), at temperatures ranging from 288.2 to 348.2 K, were obtained aimed at gathering a better understanding of their solvation ability and molecular-level mechanisms which rule the dissolution process. To ascertain the chemical features that enhance the solubility of monosaccharides, ILs composed of dialkylimidazolium or tetra-alkylphosphonium cations combined with the dicyanamide, dimethylphosphate or chloride anions were investigated. It was found that the ranking of the solubility of monosaccharides depends on the IL; yet, D-(+)-xylose is always the most soluble while D-(-)-fructose is the least soluble monosaccharide. The results obtained show that both the IL cation and the anion play a major role in the solubility of monosaccharides. Finally, from the determination of the respective thermodynamic properties of solution, it was found that enthalpic contributions are dominant in the solubilization process. However, the observed differences in the solubilities of monosaccharides in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide are ruled by a change in the entropy of solution.
- Why are some cyano-based ionic liquids better glucose solvents than water?Publication . Batista, Marta; Passos, Helena; Henriques, Bruno J.M.; Maginn, Edward J.; Pinho, Simão; Freire, Mara G.; Gomes, J.R.B.; Coutinho, João A.P.Among different classes of ionic liquids (ILs), those with cyano-based anions have been of special interest due to their low viscosity and enhanced solvation ability for a large variety of compounds. Experimental results from this work reveal that the solubility of glucose in some of these ionic liquids may be higher than in water – a well-known solvent with enhanced capacity to dissolve mono- and disaccharides. This raises questions on the ability of cyano groups to establish strong hydrogen bonds with carbohydrates and on the optimal number of cyano groups at the IL anion that maximizes the solubility of glucose. In addition to experimental solubility data, these questions are addressed in this study using a combination of density functional theory (DFT) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Through the calculation of the number of hydrogen bonds, coordination numbers, energies of interaction and radial and spatial distribution functions, it was possible to explain the experimental results and to show that the ability to favorably interact with glucose is driven by the polarity of each IL anion, with the optimal anion being dicyanamide.