2-Methyloxolane (2-MeOx) as Sustainable Lipophilic Solvent to Substitute Hexane for Green Extraction of Natural Products. Properties, Applications, and Perspectives

This review presents a complete picture of current knowledge on 2-methyloxolane (2-MeOx), a bio-based solvent for the extraction of natural products and food ingredients. It provides the necessary background about the properties of 2-MeOx, not only its solvent power and extraction efficiency, but its detailed toxicological profile and environmental impacts are discussed. We compared 2-MeOx with hexane which is the most used petroleum-based solvent for extraction of lipophilic natural products. The final part focuses on successful industrial transfer, including technologic, economic, and safety impacts. The replacement of petroleum-based solvents is a hot research topic, which affects several fields of modern plant-based chemistry. All the reported applications have shown that 2-MeOx is an environmentally and economically viable alternative to conventional petroleum-based solvents for extraction of lipophilic foodstuff and natural products.

Mapping the “Extra Solvent Power, ESP” of Ionic Liquids for Monomers, Polymers and Globular Nanoparticles

Understanding the miscibility behavior of ionic liquid (IL) / monomer, IL / polymer and IL / nanoparticle mixtures is critical for the use of ILs as green solvents in polymerization processes, and to rationalize recent observations concerning the superior solubility of some proteins in ILs when compared to standard solvents. In this work, the most relevant results obtained in terms of a three-component Flory-Huggins theory concerning the “Extra Solvent Power, ESP” of ILs when compared to traditional non-ionic solvents for monomeric solutes (case I), linear polymers (case II) and globular nanoparticles (case III) are presented. Moreover, useful ESP maps are drawn for the first time for IL mixtures corresponding to case I, II and III. Finally, a potential pathway to improve the miscibility of non-ionic polymers in ILs is also proposed.

Mapping the “Extra Solvent Power, ESP” of Ionic Liquids for Monomers, Polymers and Globular Nanoparticles

Understanding the miscibility behavior of ionic liquid (IL) / monomer, IL / polymer and IL / nanoparticle mixtures is critical for the use of ILs as green solvents in polymerization processes, and to rationalize recent observations concerning the superior solubility of some proteins in ILs when compared to standard solvents. In this work, the most relevant results obtained in terms of a three-component Flory-Huggins theory concerning the “Extra Solvent Power, ESP” of ILs when compared to traditional non-ionic solvents for monomeric solutes (case I), linear polymers (case II) and globular nanoparticles (case III) are presented. Moreover, useful ESP maps are drawn for the first time for IL mixtures corresponding to case I, II and III. Finally, a potential pathway to improve the miscibility of non-ionic polymers in ILs is also proposed.