Molecular mechanisms of ionic liquid cytotoxicity probed by an integrated experimental and computational approach

Scientific Reports
Brian YooEdward J Maginn

Abstract

Ionic liquids (ILs) are salts that remain liquid down to low temperatures, and sometimes well below room temperature. ILs have been called "green solvents" because of their extraordinarily low vapor pressure and excellent solvation power, but ecotoxicology studies have shown that some ILs exhibit greater toxicity than traditional solvents. A fundamental understanding of the molecular mechanisms responsible for IL toxicity remains elusive. Here we show that one mode of IL toxicity on unicellular organisms is driven by swelling of the cell membrane. Cytotoxicity assays, confocal laser scanning microscopy, and molecular simulations reveal that IL cations nucleate morphological defects in the microbial cell membrane at concentrations near the half maximal effective concentration (EC50) of several microorganisms. Cytotoxicity increases with increasing alkyl chain length of the cation due to the ability of the longer alkyl chain to more easily embed in, and ultimately disrupt, the cell membrane.

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Citations

May 10, 2016·Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids·Brian YooEdward J Maginn
Jan 27, 2017·Chemical Reviews·Ksenia S EgorovaValentine P Ananikov
Feb 27, 2017·Journal of Colloid and Interface Science·Gurbir SinghTejwant Singh Kang
Apr 11, 2017·ChemSusChem·Susana P F CostaM Lúcia M F S Saraiva
Feb 22, 2017·Microbiological Research·Jakub SuchodolskiAnna Krasowska
Jan 10, 2018·Biophysics Reviews·Ksenia S Egorova, Valentine P Ananikov
May 14, 2018·Biophysics Reviews·Chiara RotellaAntonio Benedetto
Feb 2, 2018·Biotechnology Progress·Agnes JanoskaCarlos Vílchez
Aug 6, 2017·Biophysics Reviews·Antonio Benedetto
Sep 17, 2020·Biophysics Reviews·Pallavi KumariAntonio Benedetto
Mar 20, 2018·Biophysics Reviews·V K Sharma, R Mukhopadhyay
Jul 6, 2017·International Journal of Molecular Sciences·Krystian MiazekDorothee Goffin
Nov 7, 2017·Toxicological Sciences : an Official Journal of the Society of Toxicology·Shaghayegh OstadjooRobin D Rogers
Jul 22, 2019·Biotechnology Advances·Joseph C Stevens, Jian Shi
Dec 13, 2019·Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids·S MitraS K Ghosh
Jan 23, 2021·Molecules : a Journal of Synthetic Chemistry and Natural Product Chemistry·Aashka Y PatelGregory A Caputo
Mar 20, 2019·Metabolic Engineering·Caleb WalkerCong T Trinh
Mar 22, 2021·International Journal of Biological Macromolecules·Isabella DeStefanoTimothy D Vaden
Jun 26, 2021·The Journal of Physical Chemistry. B·Pallavi KumariAntonio Benedetto
Dec 10, 2016·Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids·Da WangHans-Joachim Galla
Sep 15, 2018·Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids·Massimiliano GalluzziAlessandro Podestà
Jul 9, 2018·ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering·Kelly N IbsenSamir Mitragotri
Aug 24, 2019·Environmental Science & Technology·Agneta Oskarsson, Matthew C Wright
Jul 25, 2019·The Journal of Physical Chemistry. B·Arusha AcharyyaTimothy D Vaden
Mar 7, 2018·Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids·Antonio Benedetto, Pietro Ballone
Aug 17, 2020·The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters·Pallavi KumariAntonio Benedetto

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
fluorescence microscopy
confocal microscopy
Assay
dynamic light scattering

Software Mentioned

ImageJ
grofit
R Statistics Package
Gromacs
R Statics Environment

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