Exploring bile salt aggregation: insights from deep eutectic solvents

In order to reach a more sustainable future, it is imperative to rethink and replace materials and technologies that have a negative impact on the ecosystem of our planet. In this project, the aim is to do so by using greener solvents, like Deep Eutectic Solvents (DESs), to study the aggregation behavior of bile salts, a class of naturally occurring surfactants. Bile salt micellization and their supramolecular assembly structures have been extensively studied in our group in conventional solvents but investigating their properties in innovative solvents such as DESs might shed new light on their behavior and possibly inspire enhanced materials and solutions. A Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) study was conducted on systems of sodium cholate (NaC) in reline, one of the first presented DESs in the literature, uncovering its micellization properties and the peculiar influence of water percentage on its aggregation in this medium. It was possible to determine the dimension and shape of the micelles, as well as the formation of higher dimension aggregates at specific DES:water ratios. These latter aggregates have been investigated through Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) imaging in order to reveal their structure, and the study is ongoing in order to capture in higher quality the supramolecular aggregates observed.