title: Organocatalysis paradigm revisited: are metal-free catalysts really harmless?
abstract: Catalysts are commonly used in polymer synthesis. Traditionally, catalysts used to be metallic compounds but some studies have pointed out their toxicity for human health and environment, and the removal of metal impurities from synthetic polymer is quite expensive. Organocatalysts have been intensively synthesized and are now widely used in ring-opening polymerization (ROP) reactions to address these issues. However, for most of them, there is not any evidence of their safety. The present study attempts to assess whether well-established organo-based ROP catalysts used for the preparation of FDA-approved polyesters may present a certain level of cytotoxicity. In vitro toxicity is evaluated using a methyl-thiazol-tetrazolium cytotoxicity assay on two cell models (FHs74Int and HepaRG). Among the investigated organocatalysts, only functionalized thiourea shows an important cytotoxicity on both cell models. 4-Dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP), 1,5,7-triazabicyclo[4.4.0]dec-5-ene (TBD), and meta-(trimethylammonio)phenolate betaine (m-BE) show cytotoxicity against HepaRG cell line only at a high concentration.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Therapeutic Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, ‡Center of Innovation and Research in Materials and Polymers (CIRMAP), Laboratory of Polymeric and Composite Materials, and §Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Analysis, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, University of Mons - UMONS , 23 Place du Parc, 7000 Mons, Belgium.
authors.forename: Amandine
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nachtergael
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Coulembier
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dubois
authors.forename: Maxime
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Helvenstein
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Duez
authors.forename: Bertrand
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Blankert
authors.forename: Laetitia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mespouille
mesh_terms: D015761:4-Aminopyridine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D002384:Catalysis; D002460:Cell Line; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D055772:Green Chemistry Technology; D006801:Humans; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D008958:Models, Molecular; D058105:Polymerization
chemical_list: D015761:4-Aminopyridine; C003885:4-dimethylaminopyridine