The genotoxic effect of morpholinium-based ionic liquids on Pseudomonas aeruginosa LES B58: electrochemical and in silico mechanistic study

One of the most relevant and persistent human pathogens is Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Among numerous antimicrobial agents examined for their ability to combat bacterial resistance are ionic liquids. Our study investigates the genotoxic effect of two ionic liquids which were previously documented to exhibit anti-biofilm and sensitizing activity towards P. aeruginosa: 4,4-didecylmorpholinium and 4-decyl-4-ethylmorpholinium 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetate. To assess the effect of both ionic liquids on bacterial DNA we investigated changes in electrochemical signal of P. aeruginosa DNA isolated after bacteria exposure to tested compounds. We resulted in raised electrochemical signals of dsDNA after the exposition for 4-decyl-4-ethylmorpholinium, which may shown initial DNA destabilisation before occurring oxidative damage. The mechanism of potential interaction was verified using ab initio calculation of interaction with DNA base pairs: AT, GC and 8-oxoGC, and resulted in ultrahigh binding energy and interaction energy between 4-decyl-4-ethylmorpholinium and 8-oxoGC.