Ioliomics (from a

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

of ions and liquids) is the study of ions in

liquid Liquid is a state of matter with a definite volume but no fixed shape. Liquids adapt to the shape of their container and are nearly incompressible, maintaining their volume even under pressure. The density of a liquid is usually close to th ...

s (or liquid phases) and stipulated with fundamental differences of ionic interactions. Ioliomics covers a broad research area concerning structure, properties and applications of ions involved in various biological and chemical systems. The concept of this research discipline is related to other comprehensive research fields, such as genomics, proteomics, glycomics, petroleomics, etc., where the suffix ''-omics'' is used for describing the comprehensiveness of data.

Fundamental nature

The nature of chemical reactions and their description is one of the most fundamental problems in

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

. The concepts of covalent and ionic bonds which emerged in the beginning of the 20th century specify the profound differences between their electronic structures. These differences, in turn, lead to dramatically different behavior of covalent and

ionic compound In chemistry, a salt or ionic compound is a chemical compound consisting of an assembly of positively charged ions (Cation, cations) and negatively charged ions (Anion, anions), which results in a compound with no net electric charge (electrica ...

s both in the solution and solid phase. In the solid phase, ionic compounds, e.g. salts, are prone to formation of crystal lattices; in polar

solvent A solvent (from the Latin language, Latin ''wikt:solvo#Latin, solvō'', "loosen, untie, solve") is a substance that dissolves a solute, resulting in a Solution (chemistry), solution. A solvent is usually a liquid but can also be a solid, a gas ...

s, they dissociate into ions surrounded by solvate shells, thus rendering the solution highly ionic conductive. In contrast to covalent bonds, ionic interactions demonstrate flexible, dynamic behavior, which allows tuning ionic compounds to obtain desired properties.

Importance

Ionic compound In chemistry, a salt or ionic compound is a chemical compound consisting of an assembly of positively charged ions (Cation, cations) and negatively charged ions (Anion, anions), which results in a compound with no net electric charge (electrica ...

s interact strongly with the solvent medium; therefore, their impact on chemical and biochemical processes involving ions can be significant. Even in the case of simplest ions and

s, the presence of the former can lead to rearrangement and restructuring of the latter. It is established that ionic reactions are involved in numerous phenomena at the scales of whole galaxies or single living cells. To name a few, in living cells, metal ions bind to metalloenzymes and other

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

s therefore modulating their activity; ions are involved in the control of neuronal functioning during sleep – wakefulness cycles; anomalous activity of

ion channel Ion channels are pore-forming membrane proteins that allow ions to pass through the channel pore. Their functions include establishing a resting membrane potential, shaping action potentials and other electrical signals by Gating (electrophysiol ...

s results in the development of various disorders, such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, etc. Thus, despite the problems associated with the studies on properties and activities of ions in various chemical and biological systems, this research field is among the most urgent ones.

Ion-abundant liquid media

Of special interest are ion-abundant liquid media (such as ionic liquids, molten salts, liquid

electrolyte An electrolyte is a substance that conducts electricity through the movement of ions, but not through the movement of electrons. This includes most soluble Salt (chemistry), salts, acids, and Base (chemistry), bases, dissolved in a polar solven ...

s, etc.), which represent “liquid ions” with excellent tunable properties for different applications. The systems are famous for their ability to solvent-solute self-organization phenomena and are often employed in

biochemistry Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...

and pharmaceutical research. One of the most important features of ion-abundant liquid media is their huge potential to be fine-tuned. Thus, one can design an ionic liquid with virtually any combination of physicochemical or biochemical properties. Research in the area of “liquid ions” is a rapidly developing scientific field, and numerous data on their properties and activities have been accumulated so far. Currently, the concept finds applications in

catalysis Catalysis () is the increase in rate of a chemical reaction due to an added substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed by the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recycles quick ...

electrochemistry Electrochemistry is the branch of physical chemistry concerned with the relationship between Electric potential, electrical potential difference and identifiable chemical change. These reactions involve Electron, electrons moving via an electronic ...

, analytics,

fuel A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work (physics), work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chem ...

production,

biomass Biomass is a term used in several contexts: in the context of ecology it means living organisms, and in the context of bioenergy it means matter from recently living (but now dead) organisms. In the latter context, there are variations in how ...

processing,

biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...

and pharmaceutics.

References

{{Reflist, refs= {{cite journal, last1=Egorova, first1=KS, last2=Gordeev, first2=EG, last3=Ananikov, first3=VP, title=Biological Activity of Ionic Liquids and Their Application in Pharmaceutics and Medicine, journal=Chemical Reviews, volume=117, issue=10, pages=7132–7189, date=January 2017, doi=10.1021/acs.chemrev.6b00562, pmid=28125212, doi-access=free {{cite journal, last1=Sigel, first1=RK, last2=Pyle, first2=AM, title=Alternative roles for metal ions in enzyme catalysis and the implications for ribozyme chemistry, journal=Chemical Reviews, date=December 2006, volume=107, issue=1, pages=97–113, doi=10.1021/cr0502605, pmid=17212472, url=http://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/79689/1/28_AltMetalRoles_amp_0202306.pdf {{cite journal, last1=Holbrey, first1=JD, last2=Seddon, first2=KR, title=Ionic liquids, journal=Clean Products and Processes, date=December 1999, volume=1, issue=4, pages=223–236, doi=10.1007/s100980050036 Biochemistry

Ions An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...

Chemistry Omics