Liquid membranes using ionic liquids: the influence of water on solute transport

Amino acids were chosen as case-study solutes and the role played by water in their mechanism of transport was evaluated. The assessment of the transport mechanism of amino acid derivatives, with potentially different affinities towards the RTILs is also of interest. As the liquid-liquid extraction of amino acids by RTILs is potentially lower than that of amino acid esters, given the fact that the latter are more hydrophobic due to the substitution of the acidic proton of amino acids by an alkyl group, amino acid esters were also selected for study.