Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia; Sustainable Process Engineering Centre (SPEC), Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia. Electronic address: adeeb.hayyan@yahoo.com
  • 2 Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, UTM, Johor Bahru, Malaysia
  • 3 Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
  • 4 Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, King Saud University, P.O. Box 800, Riyadh 11421, Saudi Arabia
  • 5 Halal Research Group, Academy of Islamic Studies, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
  • 6 Institute of Infrastructure and Environment, School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, United Kingdom
Sci Total Environ, 2024 Jul 25;948:174758.
PMID: 39025152 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.174758

Abstract

Over the past decade, deep eutectic systems (DES) have become popular, yet their potential toxicity to living organisms is not well understood. This study fills this gap by examining the toxicity, antibacterial activity and biodegradability of p-toluenesulfonic acid monohydrate (PTSA)-based DESs prepared from ammonium or phosphonium salts. Brine shrimp assays revealed varying toxicity levels of PTSA and salts. Allyltriphenylphosphonium bromide showing the longest survival time among all tested salts while PTSA exhibited a significantly longer duration of cell survival compared to other hydrogen bond donors. PTSA and ammonium salts (N,N-diethylethanolammonium chloride and choline chloride) as individual components showed non-toxic behavior for Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria while different PTSA-based DESs showed significant inhibition zones. Fish acute ecotoxicity tests indicated moderately toxicity for individual components and DESs, though higher concentrations increased fish mortality, highlighting the need for careful handling and disposal of PTSA-based DESs to the environment. Biodegradability analyses found all tested DESs to be readily biodegradable and it was reported that, DES 3 prepapred form PTSA and choline chloride has the highest biodegradability level. Notably, all tested DESs showed over 60 % biodegradability after 28 days. This groundbreaking study explores PTSA-based DESs, highlighting their biodegradability and potential use as antibacterial agents. Results revealed that PTSA as individual component is much better from toxicity point of view in comparison with PTSA-based DESs for any further industrial applications.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.