Development of deep eutectic solvent systems and their formulation: Assessment of solubilization potential on poorly water-soluble drugs.

Modern strategies to deliver drugs efficiently via less toxic non-aqueous carriers like deep eutectic solvents (DES) has grown tremendously. Herein, we develop several synthetic and natural DES to improve solubility of poorly soluble drug, docetaxel (DTX). Menthol:Thymol-based natural DES showed 1500-folds higher solubility for DTX than that in water. FTIR-spectroscopy confirmed reduced crystallinity and stable encapsulation of DTX in DES through formation of hydrogen-bond. DTX-DES was developed further into self-emulsified formulation that upon dilution formed nano-sized globules (<200 nm) and released 20-folds higher DTX than pure drug thereby highlighting the potential of DES for designing formulations of poorly soluble drugs.