Response of three clamworm populations to weather and

BIOASSAYS FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF THE AQUATIC IMPACT OF IONIC
LIQUIDS
Susana Patrícia Fontes da Costa1, Paula Cristina de Azevedo Gomes Pinto1, Maria Lúcia
Marques Ferreira de Sousa Saraiva1, Fábio Rodrigo Piovezani Rocha2, Joyce Ribeiro de
Paula Santos2, Regina Teresa Rosim Monteiro2
1
LAQV, Requimte, Departamento de Ciências Químicas, Laboratório de Química Aplicada, Faculdade de
Farmácia, Universidade do Porto, Porto, 4050-313, Portugal
2 Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura, Universidade de São Paulo, Piracicaba, Caixa Postal 96, Brazil
Ionic liquids (ILs) raised interest as potential alternative to conventional organic
solvents by its initial labeling of “green solvents”. The noteworthy characteristics of
these neoteric solvents led to remarkable increase in their application in analytical
procedures in academia and industry, such as extraction, catalysis, electrochemistry
and chromatography.
Despite the ILs present low risk of atmospheric pollution, the assumption of low
environmental impact of these compounds has been questioned by some authors.
Water contamination, e.g. should be considered, since they present some solubility in
water. Therefore it is essential the toxicological study of these compounds before their
release to the environment, avoiding unknown long-term consequences. Thus, in this
work we intended to evaluate the (eco)toxicity of some ILs to three different
freshwater organisms and compare with two organic solvents.
The bioassays were performed by exposing the organisms to increasing
concentrations of ILs and observation of Daphnia magna immobilization, Raphidocelis
subcapitata growth inhibition, and morphological effects, or mortality in Hydra
attenuata. The results demonstrate that the tested organisms are not equally
susceptible to ILs, e.g. bmpyr [BF4] was the least toxic compound for R. subcapitata,
N1,1 [N1,1,1OOH] for D. magna and emim [Tf2N] for H. attenuata, what highlights the
importance of applying a battery of assays in toxicological analysis. Additionally, H.
attenuata proved to be the most tolerant specie to the tested ILs. ILs revealed to be
more harmful to aquatic system than the organic solvents tested, reaffirming the need
to analyze carefully the (eco)toxicological impact of these compounds.
Keywords: Ionic liquid, conventional organic solvents, toxicity.