Azomethine-functionalized task-specific ionic liquid for diversion of toxic metal ions in the aqueous environment into pharmacological nominates

By this work, a new azomethine-supported task-specific ionic liquid (ABIIL) was fabricated based on bis-(butylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate) salicylidene Schiff base. The successful formation of ABIIL was confirmed form its microanalytical and spectral results. The excellent aqueous-ethanolic solubility coupled with the high chelating capacity of ABIIL enabled it to act as a multifunctional scavenger for removing of Cu(II) and Fe(III) ions from aqueous environments. Not only has that, but also transformed these toxic ions into promising pharmacological candidates. ABIIL showed an excellent scavenging efficiency, as it can uptake up to 98.9% and 96.7% of Fe(III) and Cu(II) ions, respectively, from aqueous-ethanolic effluents. Besides, it could be easily regenerated and reused for six cycles without significant loss in its efficiency. The scavenging outputs (M-ABIIL) exhibited excellent and broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity, with a slight preference toward fungi than bacteria. Fe-ABIIL is the most potent antimicrobial nominate as revealed from its MIC values (μg/mL): 16.8 (C. albicans) < 18.9 (S. aureus) < 19.5 (A. flavus) < 23.1 (E. coli). Additionally, this complex is more cytotoxic (IC50 3.40 ± 0.53 μg/mL) than the clinical anticancer drug (Vinblastine, VB) (IC50 3.79 ± 1.01 μg/mL) toward colon cancer cells (HTC116), whereas it is less cytotoxic (IC50 85.66 ± 1.44 μg/mL) than VB (IC50 57.12 ± 1.95 μg/mL) to normal human cells (HeLa). Thus, ABIIL has great potential for removing toxic Cu(II) and Fe(III) ions from aqueous environments, converting them into chemotherapeutic agents.