title: Study of toxicity of imidazolium ionic liquids to watercress (Lepidium sativum L.).
abstract: The sensitivity of Lepidium sativum L. germination to three imidazolium ionic liquids was investigated in solutions and soils artificially contaminated with mixtures of those compounds. In case of aquatic solutions, the toxic character of analyzed compounds is connected with their hydrophobicity. The seedling growth is increasing with the decrease in ionic liquid hydrophobicity. The novelty of those studies is the application of high-performance liquid chromatography, which was used for the determination of ionic liquid quantity absorbed by cress. There was almost linear relationship between decrease in root germination and amount of ionic liquid uptaken by cress. Furthermore, the systematic studies on the influence of total organic carbon content in soil on the toxicity of ionic liquids to cress were performed for the first time. Hazardous effects appeared to be closely connected with organic matter: with the decrease of total organic carbon quantity, the inhibition of plant growth was more significant. Visual effects of ionic liquid toxic activity to garden cress are similar as in the case of nutrient deficit in plants.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Chemistry, Nicolaus Copernicus University, 7 Gagarin Str., 87-100, Toruń, Poland.
authors.forename: Sylwia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Studzińska
authors.forename: Bogusław
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Buszewski
mesh_terms: D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D018525:Germination / Q000187:drug effects; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D007093:Imidazoles / Q000633:toxicity*; D052578:Ionic Liquids / Q000633:toxicity*; D031220:Lepidium sativum / Q000187:drug effects*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D007093:Imidazoles; D052578:Ionic Liquids; D012989:Soil Pollutants