Deciphering the Role of Anions of Ionic Liquids in Modulating the Structure and Stability of ct-DNA in Aqueous Solutions

Probing lithium-ion induced micro-environment changes in pyrrolidinium-based mono-cationic and di-cationic ionic liquids

Recent advancements in lithium-ion battery technology have focused on integrating lithium salts into ionic liquid (IL) electrolytes to overcome some of the limitations associated with traditional organic liquid electrolytes. However, this proposition brings complexities because lithium salts can have a profound impact on the microscopic structural organization of ILs. In this work, we investigate the structural organization and diffusion dynamics of pyrrolidinium-based monocationic ionic liquids (MILs) and dicationic ionic liquids (DILs) in the absence and presence of lithium salt by employing time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy (TRFS), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation studies. Our findings reveal that the coordination of Li+ ions with the anions of both MILs and DILs leads to a change in the structural arrangement of the nonpolar regions of the given media. Quite interestingly, a significantly more pronounced perturbation in the nano-structural organization of MILs as compared to DILs upon the introduction of Li+ ions has been observed in the current investigations. Through meticulous data analysis, it has been elucidated that the differential impact of lithium salt on the DIL as compared to the MIL stems from the unique structural organization of the DIL. The findings of this study are expected to provide valuable insights into the design and formulations of optimized electrolytes for lithium-ion battery applications.

Solvation of Model Biomolecules in Choline-Aminoate Ionic Liquids: A Computational Simulation Using Polarizable Force Fields

One can foresee a very near future where ionic liquids will be used in applications such as biomolecular chemistry or medicine. The molecular details of their interaction with biological matter, however, are difficult to investigate due to the vast number of combinations of both the biological systems and the variety of possible liquids. Here, we provide a computational study aimed at understanding the interaction of a special class of biocompatible ionic liquids (choline-aminoate) with two model biological systems: an oligopeptide and an oligonucleotide. We employed molecular dynamics with a polarizable force field. Our results are in line with previous experimental and computational evidence on analogous systems and show how these biocompatible ionic liquids, in their pure form, act as gentle solvents for protein structures while simultaneously destabilizing DNA structure.