Biocompatible locust bean gum mesoporous matrices prepared by ionic liquids and a scCO₂ sustainable system

Locust bean gum (LBG) is a natural polymer that belongs to the increasingly attractive biodegradable polymers derived from natural sources. This polymer possesses a number of appealing features such as non-toxicity that confer it a high potential for the use in fields such as pharmacy and food industries. In this work, three methylimidazolium-based ionic liquids (ILs) were used as alternative media in the preparation of biocompatible LBG gel matrices. The process consists of dissolving the biomaterial in a selected IL followed by a multi-step solvent exchange using a mixture of water and ethanol. The final gel (internal surface areas ranging from 60 to 180 m² g^-1) is then dried using a semi-continuous high pressure CO₂ extraction process. To the best of our knowledge this is the first time that LBG mesoporous gel matrices are reported using this efficient sustainable method.