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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Tarek Abdelghany, Lanyu Fan, Ben Air, Dr Alistair Leitch, Dr Martin Cooke, Dr Agnieszka Bronowska, Professor Matthew Wright
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© 2024 The Author(s)A class of chemical with a potentially important perceived future contribution to the net zero carbon goal (as “green” solvents) is the methylimidazolium ionic liquids (MILs). These solvents are used in industrial processes such as biofuel production yet little is known about their environmental stability or toxicity in man although one MIL – 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium (M8OI) – has been shown to activate the human estrogen receptor alpha (ERα). The stabilities of the chloride unsubstituted methylimidazolium (MI) and MILs possessing increasing alkyl chain lengths (2C, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium (EMI); 4C, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium (BMI); 6C; 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium (HMI), 8C, M8OI; 10C, 1-decyl-3-methylimidazolium (DMI)) were examined in river water and a human liver model system. The MILs were also screened for their abilities to activate the human ERα in vitro and induce uterine growth in pre-pubertal rats in vivo. Short chain MILs (EMI, BMI and HMI) underwent negligible metabolism and mineralisation in river water; were not metabolised in a model of human liver metabolism; activated the human ERα in vitro and were estrogenic in vivo in rats. A structure-based computational approach predicted short chain MIL binding to both the estrogen binding site and an additional site on the human estrogen receptor alpha. Longer chain MILs (M8OI and DMI) were metabolised in river water and partially mineralised. Based on structure-activity considerations, some of these environmentally-derived metabolites may however, remain a hazard to the population. MILs therefore have the potential to become forever chemicals with adverse effects to both man, other animals and the environment in general.
Author(s): Abdelghany TM, Hedya S, Charlton A, Fan L, Fazili N, Air B, Leitch AC, Cooke M, Bronowska AK, Wright MC
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Chemosphere
Year: 2024
Volume: 363
Print publication date: 01/09/2024
Online publication date: 15/07/2024
Acceptance date: 09/07/2024
Date deposited: 05/08/2024
ISSN (print): 0045-6535
ISSN (electronic): 1879-1298
Publisher: Elsevier Ltd
URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.142827
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.142827
Data Access Statement: Data will be made available on request.
PubMed id: 39019179
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