Third Generation Ionic Liquids and Deep Eutectic Solvents in Advanced Transdermal Drug Delivery

Ionic liquids (ILs) have emerged as promising chemical compounds with extensive applications in drug delivery due to their unique and tunable biological and physicochemical properties. Researchers are continually advancing new generations of ILs, and recently, third-generation ILs and Deep Eutectic Solvents (DESs) have exhibited greater efficiency, increased biocompatibility, and enhanced chemical stability compared to their predecessors. This chapter explores the advancements in the generations of ILs followed by DESs and their impacts on enhancing transdermal drug delivery (TDD). TDD is a topic of significant interest in drug delivery due to its potential for directly dosing drugs and other bioactive molecules without invasiveness. Over the past two and a half decades, ILs and DESs have significantly improved TDD by serving as skin permeation enhancers, solvents, and surfactants to regulate skin permeability and pharmacokinetic behavior of drugs and biomaterials. The chapter will focus on highlighting the roles of third generations of ILs and DESs in advancements of TDD.

Keywords: Biodegradable, Carriers, Drug delivery, Evolution, High molecular weight, Ionic liquids, Low solubility, Skin permeability, Transdermal drug delivery, Third-generation.