ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Partitioning behavior of arbutin in aqueous biphasic systems with deep eutectic solvents and polypropylene glycol: experimental and thermodynamic study

Monir Feyzi and Shahla Shahriari

Department of Chemical Engineering, Shahr-e-Qods Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

E-mail: shahla_shahriari@yahoo.com

Received: 29 September 2023  Accepted: 15 December 2023

Abstract:

This study explored using deep eutectic solvents (DESs) to separate arbutin, a natural hydroquinone variant used in food and pharmaceuticals. While DESs are commonly used for natural product extraction, their potential for arbutin separation has not been studied until now. To address this gap, the authors selected a qualified aqueous biphasic system (ABS) composed of polypropylene glycol and DESs made with choline chloride and various carboxylic acids (lactic, acetic, and citric acid). To assess the effectiveness of the system, the partition coefficient and recovery of arbutin were determined as quantitative measures. The effects of different variables affecting the arbutin partitioning such as weight percentages of DES and polypropylene glycol, types of DES, and temperatures on the partitioning of arbutin were also investigated. Furthermore, thermodynamic transfer properties such as molar Gibbs energy, molar enthalpy, and molar entropy were calculated to analyze the effect of temperature on arbutin partitioning. The results indicated that increasing the weight percentages of polypropylene glycol and DESs resulted in higher partition coefficients of arbutin. The highest values of arbutin recovery (≈99.14%) and partition coefficient (≈166.22) were obtained using an ABS containing polypropylene glycol and DES-Lactic acid, suggesting the potential of this system for the separation of arbutin.

Keywords: Aqueous biphasic systems; Arbutin; Deep eutectic; Partitioning; Separation; Thermodynamic

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1007/s11696-023-03284-3

Chemical Papers 78 (5) 2955–2966 (2024)