Bioavailability and biological properties of several selected ionic liquids

Abstract

The ecotoxicological hazard assessment of ionic liquids (ILs) mainly focused on screening methods for larger sets of compounds at the cellular and subcellular level and on more complex and resource consuming single-species tests for a limited number of ILs. A standardized aquatic ecosystem at laboratory scale termed AquaHabà ® designed by the company OHB-System AG (Bremen, Germany) is proposed as a tool for (eco)-toxicity investigations at the level of populations and communities filling out the next levels of a flexible biological test battery. A first indication for a biomagnification potential of an IL was phrased - the EMIM (1-ethyl-3-methyl-1H-imidazolium) cation can be transferred from one organism to another within the food chain. But only a low bioaccumulation potential was suggested by the bioconcentration factors calculated from fish (BCF of 1.5 - 10) which is in accordance with the 1-n-octanol/water partition coefficient value. The data gained within this work further reduce the uncertainties within the ecotoxicological risk profile of EMIMCl which is of high importance for industrial applications.