Ionic Liquids Toxicity-Benefits and Threats.

Area of Science:

• Green Chemistry
• Environmental Science
• Materials Science

Background:

• Ionic liquids (ILs) are salts with negligible vapor pressure, often perceived as environmentally friendly.
• However, their widespread industrial application raises concerns about aquatic and terrestrial contamination.
• Existing ILs exhibit toxicity across various trophic levels, challenging their 'green' status.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the environmental risks associated with ionic liquids (ILs).
• To explore the structure-toxicity relationships of ILs.
• To highlight the development of safer, biodegradable ILs from renewable sources.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on ILs' environmental impact.
• Analysis of cytotoxicity data from human cell assays.
• Evaluation of toxicity in aquatic and terrestrial environments.
• Examination of structure-activity relationships for IL toxicity.

Main Results:

• ILs pose significant risks to aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.
• Cytotoxicity studies reveal adverse effects on human cells.
• Many ILs demonstrate toxicity towards organisms across different trophic levels.
• Structure-toxicity correlations provide insights for designing safer ILs.

Conclusions:

• The 'green' label of many ILs is questionable due to their inherent toxicity.
• There is an urgent need for the development of biodegradable and less toxic ILs.
• New generation ILs derived from renewable resources like amino acids and sugars show promise for safer applications.