Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Prospect 47, Moscow, 119991 (Russia).
ChemSusChem. 2014 Feb;7(2):336-60. doi: 10.1002/cssc.201300459. Epub 2014 Jan 7.
Rapid progress in the field of ionic liquids in recent decades led to the development of many outstanding energy-conversion processes, catalytic systems, synthetic procedures, and important practical applications. Task-specific optimization emerged as a sharpening stone for the fine-tuning of structure of ionic liquids, which resulted in unprecedented efficiency at the molecular level. Ionic-liquid systems showed promising opportunities in the development of green and sustainable technologies; however, the chemical nature of ionic liquids is not intrinsically green. Many ionic liquids were found to be toxic or even highly toxic towards cells and living organisms. In this Review, we show that biological activity and cytotoxicity of ionic liquids dramatically depend on the nature of a biological system. An ionic liquid may be not toxic for particular cells or organisms, but may demonstrate high toxicity towards another target present in the environment. Thus, a careful selection of biological activity data is a must for the correct assessment of chemical technologies involving ionic liquids. In addition to the direct biological activity (immediate response), several indirect effects and aftereffects are of primary importance. The following principal factors were revealed to modulate toxicity of ionic liquids: i) length of an alkyl chain in the cation; ii) degree of functionalization in the side chain of the cation; iii) anion nature; iv) cation nature; and v) mutual influence of anion and cation.
近几十年来，离子液体领域的快速发展催生了许多杰出的能量转换过程、催化体系、合成方法和重要的实际应用。特定任务的优化成为了精细调整离子液体结构的磨刀石，这使得分子水平上的效率达到了前所未有的水平。离子液体系统在绿色和可持续技术的发展中展现出了广阔的机遇；然而，离子液体的化学性质本身并不环保。许多离子液体被发现对细胞和生物体具有毒性，甚至是高度毒性。在这篇综述中，我们表明离子液体的生物活性和细胞毒性极大地取决于生物系统的性质。对于特定的细胞或生物体，离子液体可能没有毒性，但对于环境中存在的另一个目标，它可能表现出很高的毒性。因此，对于涉及离子液体的化学技术的正确评估，必须仔细选择生物活性数据。除了直接的生物活性（即时反应）外，还有几个间接影响和后续影响至关重要。以下主要因素被揭示可以调节离子液体的毒性：i）阳离子中烷基链的长度；ii）阳离子侧链的官能化程度；iii）阴离子的性质；iv）阳离子的性质；v）阴离子和阳离子的相互影响。
