Complex toxicological interaction between ionic liquids and pesticides to Vibrio qinghaiensis sp.-Q67

Abstract

Ionic liquids (ILs) and pesticides may coexist in ecosystems, because more and more people try to extract pesticides from various samples using ILs. Many studies have indicated that the toxicities of ILs and pesticides are time-dependent. However, people know little about the time-dependent toxicity of the mixtures of ILs and pesticides. Hence, the toxicities of two pesticides, two ILs and 20 binary pesticide–IL mixture rays at seven exposure times, 0.25, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 h, to Vibrio qinghaiensis sp.-Q67 were determined by time-dependent microplate toxicity analysis. The effect residual ratio (ERR) was used to quantitatively evaluate the toxicological interaction between pesticide and IL. Ten mixture rays exhibited synergism or antagonism at different exposure times. Toxicological interaction is mixture ratio-dependent and time-dependent. These findings suggest that mixtures of IL and pesticide pose a threat to the aquatic environment. People should pay more attention to the environmental effect of mixtures of IL and pesticide.