Cholinium-Based Ionic Liquids from Hydroxycinnamic Acids as New Promising Bioactive Agents: A Combined Experimental and Theoretical Investigation

Cholinium-based ionic liquids (Cho-ILs) are very attractive compounds for medicinal and pharmaceutical applications as bioavailability enhancers in drug formulations and active components in pharmaceutical ingredients. In this study, we synthesized six Cho-ILs from hydroxycinnamic acids (HCA) ([Cho][HCA] ILs), a group of bioactive compounds with poor water solubility. [Cho][HCA] ILs and their parent acids were evaluated for solubility, thermal stability, and antioxidant activity. Furthermore, [Cho][HCA] ILs were screened for their cytotoxicity. To rationalize the experimental antioxidant activities, density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed. The theoretical approach allowed for identification of the most likely radical scavenging mechanisms involving HCAs and the corresponding ionic forms under the studied experimental conditions and to rationalize the observed activity differences between salts and acids. Overall, our results revealed a higher solubility and free-radical scavenging activity for [Cho][HCA] ILs than corresponding HCAs, a relatively high thermal stability (melting temperature > 100 °C) and negligible cytotoxicity activity. Furthermore, DFT calculations showed that both the hydrogen atom transfer and the sequential proton loss electron transfer mechanisms are likely to occur in aqueous and ethanolic solutions. The picture emerging from our results supports the increasingly expressed idea that [Cho][HCA]ILs are promising candidates for applications in pharmaceutical formulation