Binding behavior of ibuprofen-based ionic liquids with bovine serum albumin: Thermodynamic and molecular modeling studies

•Nine ibuprofen-based ionic liquids containing cations amino acid alkyl esters [AAOR] were synthesized and characterized.•The [AAOR][Ibu] are not toxic against mouse fibroblasts and keratinocytes.•Ibu-ILs bind spontaneously to bovine serum albumin with moderate affinities (Ka 1–3.7 × 105 L/mol) at 25 °C.•Depending on their structures, [AAOR] showed differences at the preferred binding site of bovine serum albumin.