Aiming to construct a biocompatible aqueous biphasic
system (ABS),
amino acids and a block copolymer, poly(propylene glycol)-block-poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(propylene
glycol) (PPG-PEG-PPG), have been employed. Glycine and l-proline
can successfully salt out PPG-PEG-PPG and can form a biphase even
at room temperature, whereas l-alanine requires the temperature
to be increased to at least 318 K at normal atmospheric pressure to
form an ABS with the block copolymer. The phase diagrams for all the
systems have been constructed using a turbidometric method at different
temperatures, and the corresponding binodal graphs are plotted with
the help of the Merchuk equation. An increase in temperature leads
to an increase in the biphasic region. The tie line lengths, slope
of the tie lines, and compositions of both the phases of the corresponding
ABSs have been determined using the lever arm rule. The presence of
amino acids in the place of ionic salts as one of the phase-forming
components makes the ABSs eligible to extract medically relevant molecules.
Herein, proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), “one of the most prescribed
medicines in the world,” are extracted using the newly designed
amino acid and block copolymer-based ABSs. The complete extractions
of rabeprazole and pantoprazole are achieved using the glycine-based
ABS, whereas ∼83% of esomeprazole is extracted with the same
ABS. The extraction efficacies of the other two amino acid-based ABSs
are also noticeable. After the extraction, the block copolymer-rich
phase is regenerated using thermoseparation and adsorption techniques,
which makes the ABS a much greener and cost-effective methodology
in extraction chemistry.