Ever heard of rhamnolipids? Well, we didn't so much until we were approached by our colleagues from the Institute for Applied Microbiology (iAMB) at RWTH Aachen University. They were interested in an ecotoxicological assessment of those compounds, which they see as future candidate biosurfactants.
Of course, so were we, since this gave us a very nice opportunity to contribute to ensuring that novel compounds are tested well before they get introduced into the market and hence the aquatic environment by using the concept of Green Toxicology. This is the idea that chemicals should and could be thoroughly investigated by means of a set of different methods regarding their environmental impact already during development.
We tested the acute toxicity to the invertebrate Daphnia magna, and to zebrafish embryos (Danio rerio). Microbial and fungicidal effectiveness was also investigated. Furthermore, we determined a potential mutagenicity by means of the Ames fluctuation assay.
We found that mono-rhamnolipids exhibit toxicity to daphnids and zebrafish embryos comparable to or even lower than chemical surfactants. They showed very low toxicity to the germination of Aspergillus niger spores and the growth of Candida albicans. No mutagenicity was observed using the Ames fluctuation assay. Model simulations confirmed our findings regarding no mutagenic potential, and they also indicated that rhamnolipids have no estrogenicity.
Read the whole story about mono-rhamnolipids as an environmentally friendly alternative to chemical surfactants, from an ecotoxicological point of view. (fulltext only with a subscription to the journal, sorry...)
No comments:
Post a Comment