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Ecotoxicity of polyelectrolyte formulations in water and soil matrices

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Abstract

Interpolyelectrolyte complexes (IPECs) formed by the interaction of two oppositely charged polyelectrolytes have been proposed as soil structure stabilizers. However, little is known about the environmental safety of IPECs. The goal of this study was to investigate the toxicity of a positively charged IPEC formed by two commercial polymers, namely the cationic biopolymer poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA) and the anionic biopolymer lignohumate (LH), a humic-based plant growth promoter. Toxicity was assessed using cultures of the bacteria Escherichia coli, the ciliate Paramecium caudatum, mammalian (Bos taurus) spermatozoa in vitro, and three plant species (Sinapis alba, Raphanus sativus, and Triticum durum). The responses of test organisms were evaluated in contact with (1) polymer and water and (2) polymer and soil. In water, PDDA and IPEC were highly toxic to bacteria and ciliates at all concentrations and less toxic to mammalian cells. Higher plants were less sensitive to the polymers, and the toxicity progressively decreased in the order PDDA > IPEC > LH. In soil matrices; the phytotoxicity of PDDA and IPEC was found to be quite low, and none of the polymers was toxic to plants at concentrations that allowed the formation of polymeric soil crusts against erosion. This is because the toxicity of cationic polymers decreases as they enter the soil matrix and bind to organic matter and minerals.

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The data used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We appreciate the valuable comments and suggestions of the journal editors and anonymous reviewers.

Funding

This research was supported by the Development Program “Future Planet and Global Environmental Change” of the Interdisciplinary Scientific and Educational School of M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University. Soil analyses were carried out according to State Assignment of Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation no. 121040800154–8. The funding body did not play any other role within this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Soil Science, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1-12, Moscow, 119991, Russian Federation

    Olga Yakimenko, Aliya Ziganshina, Vera Terekhova, Marina Gladkova & Mikhail Timofeev

  2. A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Prospekt 33, Moscow, 119071, Russian Federation

    Vera Terekhova

  3. Department of Chemistry, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1-3, Moscow, 119991, Russian Federation

    Irina Panova & Alexander Yaroslavov

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  1. Olga Yakimenko
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  2. Aliya Ziganshina
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  3. Vera Terekhova
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  4. Irina Panova
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  5. Marina Gladkova
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Contributions

Olga Yakimenko: conception or design of the work, data analysis and interpretation, drafting of the article, critical revision of the article, final approval of the version to be published. Aliya Ziganshina: data collection, data analysis and interpretation. Vera Terekhova: conception or design of the work; drafting of the article, critical revision of the article, final approval of the version to be published. Irina Panova: conception or design of the work, drafting of the article, critical revision of the article, final approval of the version to be published. Marina Gladkova: data collection, data analysis and interpretation. Mikhail Timofeev: data collection, data analysis and interpretation. Alexander Yaroslavov: drafting of the article, critical revision of the article, final approval of the version to be published.

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Correspondence to Olga Yakimenko.

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Yakimenko, O., Ziganshina, A., Terekhova, V. et al. Ecotoxicity of polyelectrolyte formulations in water and soil matrices. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 65489–65499 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-20449-x

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