Mechanistic insights into the cytotoxic and apoptotic effects of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide and 1-butylpyridinium bromide on human cell lines

Lu Gao; Charles Obinwanne Okoye; Bonaventure Chidi Ezenwanne; Jianxiong Jiang; Guizhu Wu; Lin Yu; Daolin Du; Yonglai Xue

doi:10.2478/aiht-2025-76-3966

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Mechanistic insights into the cytotoxic and apoptotic effects of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide and 1-butylpyridinium bromide on human cell lines

Archives of Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology

Volume 76 (2025): Issue 3 (September 2025)

By: Lu Gao, Charles Obinwanne Okoye, Bonaventure Chidi Ezenwanne, Jianxiong Jiang, Guizhu Wu, Lin Yu, Daolin Du and Yonglai Xue

Open Access

|Sep 2025

Figures & Tables

Proliferation curves for [Bmim]Br in A) MCF-7; B) HeLa; and C) HEK293T cells and for [Bpy]Br in D) HeLa; E) HEK293T; and F) MCF-7 cells

Motility of [Bmim]Br and [Bpy]Br in A) HeLa; B) HEK293T; and C) MCF-7 cells. * statistically significant difference from control (0 μmol/L) (p<0.05; Student’s t-test)

[Bmim]Br and [Bpy]Br effects on mRNA (panel A) and protein levels (panel B) of different cyclins and CDKs in HeLa cells. * statistically significant difference from control (0 μmol/L) (p<0.05; Student’s t-test)

HeLa cell cycle upon treatment with [Bmim]Br and [Bpy]Br: A) normal cell-cycle distribution; B) [Bmim]Br-treated cells showing G0/G1 phase arrest; and C) [Bpy]Br-treated cells with enhanced G0/G1 phase arrest

Percentage of apoptotic cells in HeLa and MCF-7 human cancer cell lines treated with [Bmim]Br and [Bpy]Br

Treatment type	Cell type	Concentration (μmol/L)	Cell percentage (%)
Treatment type	Cell type	Concentration (μmol/L)	Living cells	Early apoptotic	Late apoptotic	Dead cells
[Bmim]Br	HeLa	0	95.50	1.45	2.45	0.60
		100	79.80*	5.50*	14.05*	0.65
		1500	47.53*	8.52*	42.15*	1.79*
	MCF-7	0	90.40	1.80	6.95	0.85
		100	61.28*	2.00	35.33*	1.40*
		1500	41.88*	5.00*	50.62*	2.50*
[Bpy]Br	HeLa	100	79.60*	4.93*	15.13*	0.35
	HeLa	1000	38.32*	8.98*	50.90*	1.80*
	MCF-7	100	55.79*	4.47*	36.68*	1.05
	MCF-7	1000	33.86*	3.94*	60.63*	1.57*

Comparison of [Bmim]Br and [Bpy]Br half-maximal inhibition (IC50) in different human cell lines

Cell type	IC₅₀ (μmol/L)
	[Bmim]Br	[Bpy]Br
HeLa	841.86±21.03	341.74±13.61*
MCF-7	538.38±10.54	333.27±19.18*
HEK293-T	654.78±22.6	328.98±26.49*

Names and general structures of the tested ionic liquids

Name	Abbreviation	Structure
1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide	[Bmim][Br]
1-butyl-3-methylpyridinium bromide	[Bpy][Br]

References

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/aiht-2025-76-3966 | Journal eISSN: 1848-6312 | Journal ISSN: 0004-1254

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Language: English, Croatian, Slovenian

Page range: 195 - 202

Submitted on: Feb 1, 2025

Accepted on: Aug 1, 2025

Published on: Sep 30, 2025

Published by: Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Publication frequency: 4 issues per year

Keywords:

anti-proliferative effects,

Related subjects:

Basic medical science,

Basic medical science, other

© 2025 Lu Gao, Charles Obinwanne Okoye, Bonaventure Chidi Ezenwanne, Jianxiong Jiang, Guizhu Wu, Lin Yu, Daolin Du, Yonglai Xue, published by Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Volume 76 (2025): Issue 3 (September 2025)

Mechanistic insights into the cytotoxic and apoptotic effects of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide and 1-butylpyridinium bromide on human cell lines

Figures & Tables

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Percentage of apoptotic cells in HeLa and MCF-7 human cancer cell lines treated with [Bmim]Br and [Bpy]Br

Comparison of [Bmim]Br and [Bpy]Br half-maximal inhibition (IC50) in different human cell lines

Names and general structures of the tested ionic liquids

Paradigm

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