Chapter 6: Medical and Biological Samples Waste

This chapter describes the application of ILs as alternative solvents in the valorisation of medical (viz. expired medicines) and biological samples (viz. expired transfusion plasma and hair) waste, from which biological products of high value can be recovered. Even after expiration, medicines retain a considerable percentage of active ingredients in active form, but these are commonly incinerated for energy recovery. In turn, unused clinical transfusion plasma represents a reservoir of proteins with biopharmaceutical potential. Human hair disposal is mainly tackled through landfilling and, given its slow degradation, it tends to accumulate, persist, and impact the environment. Alternatively, the recovery of valuable drugs and biomolecules from such matrices using ILs can be pursued and is here overviewed and discussed.