Sanches Matilde Vieira, Freitas Rosa, Oliva Matteo, Cuccaro Alessia, Monni Gianfranca, Mezzetta Andrea, Guazzelli Lorenzo, Pretti Carlo
Departamento de Biologia & CESAM, Universidade de Aveiro, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal.
Interuniversity Consortium of Marine Biology of Leghorn "G. Bacci,", 57128, Leghorn, Italy.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2023 Mar;30(14):39288-39318. doi: 10.1007/s11356-023-25562-z. Epub 2023 Feb 6.
The variety of applications and expected growth in ionic liquid production are raising concerns about the release of these compounds into aquatic systems. Up to date, 103 studies have provided ecotoxicological data regarding the exposure effects of Ionic Liquids towards aquatic microorganisms and invertebrate species: 61 were devoted to freshwater species (n = 28), while marine species (n = 12) were mentioned in 42. The aim of this review, by gathering published studies on ionic liquids and model aquatic organisms, was to present the toxic effects described in distinct species and to understand which are the main factors influencing the toxicity of some ionic liquids. In accordance with the most recognized pattern, freshwater species were featured in a higher number of publications than marine ones. After literature analysis, algal species were the most represented organisms in aquatic toxicity assessments. Among tested compounds, the imidazolium cations in combination with long alkyl-chain anions, showed to be the most toxic one. In analytical terms, it is not straightforward to find the undissociated compound in a natural compartment, as ionic liquids are composed of ionic components, easily subjected to dissociation. Given the aforementioned, the present review paper points out the need of increasing the number of organisms being assessed in ionic liquids toxicity assays, in order to start defining monitoring procedures. Moreover, such would allow a better understanding of ionic liquids contamination status and, also, the opportunity to remark the effectiveness of new in silico methods for the ecotoxicity assessment of this kind of substances.
离子液体生产中应用的多样性以及预期的增长引发了人们对这些化合物释放到水生系统中的担忧。到目前为止，已有103项研究提供了关于离子液体对水生微生物和无脊椎动物物种暴露影响的生态毒理学数据：其中61项针对淡水物种（n = 28），42项提到了海洋物种（n = 12）。本综述的目的是通过收集已发表的关于离子液体和典型水生生物的研究，呈现不同物种中描述的毒性效应，并了解影响某些离子液体毒性的主要因素。按照最公认的模式，关于淡水物种的出版物数量多于海洋物种。经过文献分析，藻类物种是水生毒性评估中最具代表性的生物。在测试的化合物中，咪唑阳离子与长烷基链阴离子结合显示出毒性最大。从分析角度来看，在自然环境中找到未离解的化合物并非易事，因为离子液体由离子成分组成，容易发生离解。鉴于上述情况，本综述指出需要增加离子液体毒性试验中评估的生物数量，以便开始确定监测程序。此外，这将有助于更好地了解离子液体的污染状况，同时也有机会评估新型计算机模拟方法对这类物质生态毒性评估的有效性。
