%0 Journal Article %@ 01677322 %A Ahmad, N.A. %A Jumbri, K. %A Ramli, A. %A Ghani, N.A. %A Ahmad, H. %A Kassim, M.A. %D 2019 %F scholars:11691 %I Elsevier B.V. %J Journal of Molecular Liquids %K Crystalline materials; Density functional theory; Free radicals; Hydrogen bonds; Ionic liquids; Positive ions; Probability density function; Spectrum analysis, Active pharmaceutical ingredients; COSMO-RS; Density function theory calculations; DFT calculation; Dpph radicals; Free radical scavenging; Intermolecular hydrogen bonds; Protic ionic liquids, Antioxidants %P 309-319 %R 10.1016/j.molliq.2019.01.048 %T Synthesis, characterisation and antioxidant properties of ferulate-based protic ionic liquids: Experimental and modelling approaches %U https://khub.utp.edu.my/scholars/11691/ %V 278 %X Active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in the form of crystalline solid are commonly produced in drug manufacturing industries. However, crystalline solid APIs have a low solubility and the ability to cause polymorphism transformation. In order to overcome these problems, a modification of APIs in the form of protic ionic liquids (PILs) has been proposed. In the present study, a series of five ferulate-based PILs were successfully synthesised and characterised by appropriate spectral analysis. The antioxidant activity of synthesised PILs was determined through the 2,2�diphenyl�1�picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging assays. The spectroscopy analysis confirmed the formation of PILs supported by the Density Function Theory (DFT) calculation. The synthesised ferulate-based PILs exhibited low EC 50 ranging from 12.93 ± 0.05 to 17.40 ± 0.04 μM indicating a strong antioxidant activity compared to parent acid (EC 50 of 21.40 ± 0.05 μM). Prediction of antioxidant activity of the PILs and their ionic interactions at the molecular level were studied by applying DFT calculation at B3-LYP/6-311G*** level and COSMO-RS. Based on the optimised geometry, the ion-pair of PILs formed a strong directional intermolecular hydrogen bond between the �NH group of the cation with the �COOH group of the anion with interaction energy of �111 to �120 kcal mol �1 . Predicted antioxidant activity indicated that the PILs's cation has a weak interaction with an anion as observed from the �-potential analysis. © 2019 Elsevier B.V. %Z cited By 13