text: Of special interest are ion-abundant liquid media (such as ionic liquids, molten salts, liquid electrolytes, 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 chemistry, biochemistry 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, electrochemistry, analytics, fuel production, biomass processing, biotechnology, biochemistry and pharmaceutics.