Biocompatible Ionic Liquids for Improving the Solubility of Ciprofloxacin

The formulation and administration of ciprofloxacin in the zwitterionic form represent a great concern due to its low water solubility, low membrane permeability, metal-ion complexation, polymorphism, and a pronounced tendency to crystallize.Thus, the aim of this work was to study how the physicochemical properties of biocompatible ionic liquids (ILs), e.g., polarity, dipole moment, and molar volume might affect the solubility of the aforementioned drug. The cation of the ILs was kept constant (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium) and different anions were employed, namely chloride, acetate, and cysteinate in order to analyses the anion's impact on the solubility The 2nd generation ILs were obtained using a macro-porous ion-exchange resin. Solubility assays were conducted using in-house-built equipment. Preliminary solubility results ranged from 5 to 13% (w/w) of ciprofloxacin based on the total mass of the solution. Currently, the following is being tested: API dissolution using shake-flask equipment; viability assays.