Laboratory for Neutron Scattering , Paul Scherrer Institute , Villigen 5232 , Switzerland.
Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Research , University College Dublin , Dublin 4 , Ireland.
Langmuir. 2018 Aug 21;34(33):9579-9597. doi: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.7b04361. Epub 2018 Mar 21.
Empirical evidence and conceptual elaboration reveal and rationalize the remarkable affinity of organic ionic liquids for biomembranes. Cations of the so-called room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs), in particular, are readily absorbed into the lipid fraction of biomembranes, causing a variety of observable biological effects, including generic cytotoxicity, broad antibacterial potential, and anticancer activity. Chemical physics analysis of model systems made of phospholipid bilayers, RTIL ions, and water confirm and partially explain this evidence, quantifying the mild destabilizing effect of RTILs on the structural, dynamic, and thermodynamic properties of lipids in biomembranes. Our Feature Article presents a brief introduction to these systems and to their roles in biophysics and biotechnology, summarizing recent experimental and computational results on their properties. More importantly, it highlights the many developments in pharmacology, biomedicine, and bionanotechnology expected from the current research effort on this topic. To anticipate future developments, we speculate on (i) potential applications of (magnetic) RTILs to affect and control the rheology of cells and biological tissues, of great relevance for diagnostics and (ii) the use of RTILs to improve the durability, reliability, and output of biomimetic photovoltaic devices.
经验证据和概念阐述揭示并合理化了有机离子液体与生物膜之间显著的亲和力。特别是所谓的室温离子液体 (RTIL) 的阳离子很容易被生物膜的脂质部分吸收，引起各种可观察到的生物学效应，包括一般的细胞毒性、广谱的抗菌潜力和抗癌活性。由磷脂双层、RTIL 离子和水组成的模型系统的化学物理分析证实并部分解释了这一证据，量化了 RTIL 对生物膜中脂质的结构、动态和热力学性质的温和破坏作用。我们的专题文章简要介绍了这些系统及其在生物物理学和生物技术中的作用，总结了最近关于它们性质的实验和计算结果。更重要的是，它强调了当前在这一主题上的研究工作在药理学、生物医学和生物纳米技术方面的许多发展。为了预测未来的发展，我们推测 (i) (磁性) RTIL 用于影响和控制细胞和生物组织流变学的潜在应用，这对于诊断非常重要，以及 (ii) 使用 RTIL 来提高仿生光伏器件的耐久性、可靠性和输出。
