Biomass processing with alternative solvents: Fine chemical production for a value-added biorefinery

Agricultural or biological wastes contain several reusable substances of high value such as chemical intermediates, fragrances or soluble sugars. While the growing research on ionic liquids as solvents for lignocellulosic biorefinery is mostly related to the production of biofuels, relatively little attention is paid to the extraction of valuable ingredients from plant materials. Yet there are several aspects of ionic liquids or their aqueous solutions that are potentially advantageous for the extraction of high-value compounds: Apart from their unique solvent properties and potential environmental benefits, the ability of ionic liquids to dissolve biomass can lead to a better access to valuable ingredient embedded in the biopolymers and contribute to a value-added biorefinery.

Representing publications:

Lima et al. Extraction and consecutive purification of anthocyanins from grape pomace using ionic liquid solutions, Fluid Phase Equilib. 2017, 451, 68;
Ressmann et al. New aspects for biomass processing with ionic liquids: Towards the isolation of pharmaceutically active betulin Green Chem. 2012, 19, 1014;
Bica et al. Ionic liquids and fragrances – direct isolation of orange essential oil, Green Chem. 2011, 13, 1997.

Cooperations:
Prof. Heidi Halbwirth, TU Wien, Austria
Prof. M. G. Freire & Prof. J. Coutinho, CICECO, Aveiro, Portugal
Prof. A. Silva Lima, Tiradentes University, Aracaju-SE, Brazil

Towards a greener drug production: Developing novel ionic liquid-based processes

In this project, we develop novel, ionic liquid-based strategies for the reactive dissolution of biomass, e.g. star anise seeds using different functionalized ILs as solvent and reaction media towards the isolation of important pharmaceutical intermediates. This procedure provided a single-step, higher yielding and environmentally benign strategy towards the synthesis of the anti-influenza drug Tamiflu™ and was awarded the INITS award 2012.

Representing publications:

Ressmann et al. Toward a benign strategy for the manufacturing of betulinic acid, Green Chem. 2017, 19, 1014.
Ressmann et al. From plant to drug: Ionic liquids for the reactive dissolution of biomass, Green Chem. 2011, 13, 1442;

Tailoring ionic liquids for DNA extractions: From food control to molecular diagnostics

The detection of genetically modified crops is a crucial task to ensure food quality. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) can be used to determine even minor amounts of DNA in the field of environmental, agricultural or food and feed research allowing e.g. the determination of genetically modified organisms. Although commercial kits relying on conventional aqueous buffer systems are available, they usually suffer from poor extraction performance of DNA and high costs.
Apart from their extraordinary extraction properties for valuable ingredients from plant matter, ionic liquids have been reported for the stabilization of DNA in aqueous solutions. The combination of these properties allows the rapid and quantitative DNA extraction from a broad range of microbial targets and is be of interest for fields ranging from clinical diagnostics to food safety and water quality assessment.

Ionic liquid-based strategy for the detection of genetically modified maize

Ionic liquid-based strategy for the detection of genetically modified maize


Representing publications:

Martzy et al. Simple lysis of bacterial cells for DNA-based diagnostics using hydrophilic ionic liquids, Sci. Rep. 2019, 9, 13994.
Gonzalez Garcia et al. Direct extraction of genomic DNA from maize with aqueous ionic liquid buffer systems for applications in genetically modified organisms analysis, Anal. Bioanal. Chem. 2014, 406, 7773.

Cooperations:

Dr. Georg Reischer & Prof. R. Mach, Institute of Chemical, Environmental and Biological Engineering (ICEBE), Technische Universität Wien, Austria