title: Assessing chemical toxicity of ionic liquids on Vibrio fischeri: Correlation with structure and composition.
abstract: One of the most important properties of ionic liquids is their non-volatility, making them potentially "green" alternatives to volatile organic compounds. However, they are widely soluble in water, meaning that they can be released into aquatic ecosystems and so contribute to water pollution. Nevertheless, although the toxicity of ILs has been widely assessed in the literature, the information is still scarce due to the great number of ionic liquids that have been synthesized. The present work reports the toxicity of twenty-nine imidazolium-, pyridinium- and ammonium-based ionic liquids towards the bioluminescent photobacterium Vibrio fischeri. When the effect of the type of anion, the length of the alkyl chain of the cation, the cation core and the presence of a functionalized side chain in the cation on ionic liquid toxicity were analyzed, the main influence was seen to be exercised by the alkyl chain length. A Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationships-based method was used to compare the experimental results with previously estimated values and very good agreement was obtained. A relationship between the toxicity, expressed as Log EC50, and the 1-octanol-water partition coefficient was established.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Chemistry, Regional Campus of International Excellence "Campus Mare Nostrum", University of Murcia, P.O. Box 4021, Campus of Espinardo, E-30071, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Mercedes G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Montalbán
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Chemistry, Regional Campus of International Excellence "Campus Mare Nostrum", University of Murcia, P.O. Box 4021, Campus of Espinardo, E-30071, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Juana M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Hidalgo
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Regional Campus of International Excellence "Campus Mare Nostrum", University of Murcia, P.O. Box 4021, Campus of Espinardo, E-30071, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Mar
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Collado-González
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Regional Campus of International Excellence "Campus Mare Nostrum", University of Murcia, P.O. Box 4021, Campus of Espinardo, E-30071, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: F Guillermo
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: Díaz Baños
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Chemistry, Regional Campus of International Excellence "Campus Mare Nostrum", University of Murcia, P.O. Box 4021, Campus of Espinardo, E-30071, Murcia, Spain. Electronic address: gvillora@um.es.
authors.forename: Gloria
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Víllora
mesh_terms: D020003:1-Octanol / Q000032:analysis; D048908:Aliivibrio fischeri / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D000838:Anions; D002412:Cations; D052578:Ionic Liquids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity*; D021281:Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D000838:Anions; D002412:Cations; D052578:Ionic Liquids; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D020003:1-Octanol
keywords: EC(50); Ionic liquids; Microtox(®) tests; Toxicity; Vibrio fischeri