review · Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
Rising antimicrobial resistance among microorganisms presents a critical public health challenge, prompting exploration of alternatives to traditional antibiotics. Deep eutectic solvents have emerged as sustainable antimicrobial agents due to advantageous traits such as low volatility, low flammability, simple preparation, and low production costs. Within this group, natural deep eutectic solvents are formulated from natural precursors, aligning with broader efforts to reduce reliance on synthetic chemicals. These solvents can be synthesised using methods including heating, stirring, freeze-drying, evaporation, grinding, and ultrasound or microwave assistance. Beyond established uses in biomolecule extraction and cosmetics formulation, natural deep eutectic solvents exhibit notable antibacterial and antifungal capabilities. Their performance suggests significant potential to counter bacterial resistance, positioning them as viable candidates to complement or substitute conventional antibiotics across diverse settings.
Conventional antibiotics are increasingly failing because bacteria and fungi develop resistance over time. Natural deep eutectic solvents provide an alternative antimicrobial solution derived from natural components rather than synthetic chemicals. Their safety profile, low flammability, and cost-effective production make them an attractive option for addressing global health concerns linked to resistant pathogens.
The abstract identifies applications for deep eutectic solvents in cosmetics manufacturing and biomolecule extraction, alongside their emerging role as antimicrobial alternatives to conventional antibiotics. Formulators and industrial chemists in personal care and healthcare could utilise these natural solvents. Because this work is a literature review consolidating antimicrobial properties, the application of natural deep eutectic solvents as clinical or commercial antimicrobial agents remains at an early research stage.
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The increasing antibiotic resistance towards a panel of microorganisms is one of the public health concerns. For this reason, the search for alternatives to the widely used antibiotic has been undertaken. In the era of sustainable chemistry, deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have emerged as promising antimicrobial agents. These solvents possess several advantages such as low volatility, low flammability, ease of preparation, and typically low cost of production. These properties make DES suitable for various applications, including extraction of biomolecules and preparation of cosmetics. Natural DESs (NADESs) are special category of DESs prepared from natural sources, which matched the recent trends of leaning back to nature, and decreasing dependence on synthetic precursors. NADES can be prepared by heating and stirring, freeze-drying, evaporation, grinding, and ultrasound-assisted and microwave-assisted synthesis. Utilizing NADESs as an alternative to traditional antibiotics, which become ineffective over time due to bacterial resistance, holds great promise for these reasons. This review aims to discuss the antimicrobial properties of multiple NADESs, including antibacterial and antifungal activities. To the best of our knowledge, this review is the first literature survey of the antimicrobial activities of NADESs. KEY POINTS: • Natural deep eutectic solvents are promising antimicrobial alternative to antibiotics • NADES holds high potential for their activity against bacterial resistance • NADES have also substantial antifungal activities.
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DOI: 10.1007/s00253-024-13044-2
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