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Ionic liquids, NanoGUMBOS and DES toxicity
ILs have gained particular attention as “green” alternatives to volatile organic solvents due to their low vapour pressure that reduces inhalatory exposure and release to the air. However, due to the possible industrial utilization of ILs we have assisted to an increased concern about their environmental impact and human toxicity. Indeed, even though ILs may reduce air pollution, they can be release into the environment causing water contamination and affecting living organism and ultimately human health. For all this, it´s important to develop simple and fast screening methodologies that might stop, in an initial stage, the development of harmful compounds whose massive utilization could be associated with severe damage to environment as well as to human life. In this context we have invested on the development of bioassays for the evaluation of ILs´ toxic based on the:
Interaction with enzymes present in human tissue and environmental organisms
A few enzyme inhibition assays have already provided interesting information about the toxicity of ILs. Generally, from the available studies one can conclude that while test systems at higher levels of complexicity evidence the effects of ILs on a complex environment, molecular and cellular tests clarify the impact of the structural elements and the way they should be modified to reduce their hazardous potential. Furthermore, the evaluation of chemical´s toxicity by means of enzyme inhibition presents advantages such as simplicity of laboratory implementation, reduction of costs and duration of the assays as well as simplification of data interpretation. Moreover, there are already authors confirming the parallelism between the results of toxicity evaluation in enzymes and plants. As examples of our work in this field we highlight the development of automated methodologies for the evaluation of ILs toxicity based on their effect on catalase and carboxylesterase activity. The developed bioassays can be used in as screening methods for toxicity evaluation of ILs and other xenobiotics.
The research on this field continues by focusing on other enzymes (from human and microorganisms tissues) with biological interest in order to simulate some biological function or phenomena with vital importance.
Influence in bioaquatic organisms
Our studies regarding the toxicity of ILs focused also on Vibrio fischeri, a luminescent bacterium that has been extensively used as a biomarker of several xenobiotics and pollutants and is a standard ecotoxicological bioassay in Europe (DIN EN ISO 11348). This work opened interesting possibilities in terms of (eco)toxicological studies such as the automation of biodegradability assays based on microorganism and involving the evaluation of the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) in the presence of ILs.
The scope of this research will be expanded to other environmental microorganism with importance in toxicity evaluation, and even to whole cell assays based on human or animal cells in partnership with an international group that is now being contacted.
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