Bioaccumulation of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ionic liquid in a simple marine trophic chain

Abstract

This study focused on the bioaccumulation intensities of the ionic liquid (IL) 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (bmimCl) by two invertebrates: Mytilus trossulus and Balanus improvisus and the green alga Chlorella vulgaris. The bioconcentration of bmimCl by two invertebrates was tested in the contaminated water, both with and without the presence of green algae previously exposed to the bmimCl. The experimentally obtained bioconcentration factors (BCFs) are quite low and do not exceed the value of 10. The presence of contaminated C. vulgaris in the water induces an increase in BCF of barnacles up to 80% in comparison to barnacles exposed only to contaminated water. Detoxication of M. trossulus may be more effective in the presence of higher IL concentrations. BCFs for hard tissues of the mussel indicates an exclusively physical sorption mechanism on the mineral surface.

Toward the Proactive Design of Sustainable Chemicals: Ionic Liquids as a Prime Example

“…After exposure to IM1-4, BCFs < 10 L/kg were reported for Mytilus trossulus , Balanus improvisus , and Chlorella vulgaris , which are rather low but nonetheless yielded concentrations within algae well above the corresponding EC 50 of IM1-4 Cl. The authors assumed that the majority of the IL is adsorbed to the negatively charged cell wall . To study the impact of biomagnification, M. trossulus and B. improvisus were fed in a separate experiment with Chlorella previously exposed to IM1-4 Cl.…”

The aquatic impact of ionic liquids on freshwater organisms

“…It is possible that a similar response to the one observed for xenobiotics and pharmaceuticals occurs with ILs and that high concentrations of these compounds induce a detoxification response in Hydra, reflected as a lower sensitivity to the tested ILs compared with microcrustaceans and alga. Nedzi verified that for higher concentrations of ILs a detoxification process occurred in the invertebrate Mytilus trossulus (Nedzi et al, 2013), demonstrating that some species are able to detoxify in the presence of high IL concentrations.…”

Characterization of ionic liquid cytotoxicity mechanisms in human keratinocytes compared with conventional biocides

“…Unsurprisingly, given the potential range of ILs available, it is now widely accepted that it is no longer feasible to universally label them as 'green' solvents, given the biological toxicity attributable to ILs. Indeed, studies on the potential for collateral toxicity linked to their widespread application have centred around contamination of the aquatic environment, including toxicity to bacteria responsible for biodegradation and damage to cellular morphology of plants and wildlife, as well as bioaccumulation in marine trophic chains (Couling et al, 2006;Liu et al, 2015;Nędzi et al, 2013;Piotrowska et al, 2018;Pretti et al, 2006;Samorì et al, 2007;Sintra et al, 2017;Wells and Coombe, 2006). However, the ability of environmental bacteria to biodegrade certain ILs has been described (Sydow et al, 2018;Thamke et al, 2019), and may therefore mitigate the risks associated with ecotoxicity resulting from accidental environmental exposures.…”