Water-Rich Deep Eutectic Solvent Formulation Platform for Delivering Poorly Soluble Bioactives

Deep eutectic solvents (DES) are highly promising solvent systems because they can dissolve a wide range of bioactive compounds that have very limited solubility in water or in conventional organic solvents. However, their practical use as the main formulation medium is often restricted by their high viscosity, relatively high cost and limited compatibility with aqueous products. In particular, when DES are simply diluted with water, their distinctive solvent properties are rapidly reduced or lost.

The proposed technology overcomes this formulation bottleneck by enabling DES to be incorporated into a predominantly aqueous matrix while maintaining their useful solubilizing performance. This makes it possible to exploit the benefits of DES in formulations that are easier to handle, less viscous, cheaper, and more compatible with skin or other biological surfaces.

The platform is designed to work with different DES types and poorly soluble bioactive molecules. It provides an alternative to conventional approaches such as direct water dilution, use of large amounts of organic co-solvents, surfactant-heavy systems or polymeric microencapsulation. A key differentiating feature is that the technology does not rely on polymer microencapsulation and can be produced using simple mixing devices, potentially reducing process complexity and facilitating industrial translation.

A successful proof-of-concept has been demonstrated with quercetin, a poorly water-soluble bioactive compound. In a formulation containing more than 60% water, quercetin solubility was increased by over 2000 times compared with its solubility in water. This result highlights the potential of the platform to enable high-performance, water-rich formulations of bioactives that are otherwise difficult to formulate.

The technology has been demonstrated at working prototype level through the preparation of stable, water-rich DES-based formulations. Different DES types have been successfully incorporated into aqueous matrices, and a representative formulation containing more than 60% water showed a greater than 2000-fold solubility increase for quercetin versus water. Further work may include scale-up, stability studies, optimization for specific active ingredients and validation in selected end-use applications. Campus Bio-Medico University is open to joint development or technical cooperation agreements for selected applications.

Potential application areas include:

• Nutraceuticals and functional foods, for poorly soluble antioxidants, polyphenols, vitamins and plant-derived bioactives.
• Pharmaceutical formulations, where improved solubilization of poorly water-soluble active compounds is needed.
• Cosmetics and personal care, for the delivery of lipophilic or poorly water-soluble active ingredients in water-based products.
• Food and beverage ingredients, where water-compatible delivery of functional compounds is required.
• Agrochemical formulations, including bioactive plant protection or biostimulant ingredients with low aqueous solubility.
• Veterinary and animal nutrition products, where formulation of poorly soluble actives in aqueous or semi-aqueous systems may be beneficial.