Influence of hydroxypropylcyclodextrins on the toxicity of mixtures.

We studied the influence of hydroxypropylcyclodextrins (HPCDs) on the toxicity of some mixtures. Using the Photobacterium phosphoreum toxicity test, the joint toxicological effect for Mixture I (containing p-nitrobenzaldehyde and 1-nitronaphthalene) and Mixture II (containing p-nitrobenzaldehyde and malononitrile) were determined in water and in aqueous solutions of HPCDs. The results indicate that, although the toxicological joint effect for Mixture I (simple addition) differs from that of Mixture II (synergism), alpha- and beta-HPCD can significantly reduce the toxicity of the test compounds, whereas gamma-HPCD has only a slight effect. Explanations for these observations are given that invoke the molecular structure of the individual chemicals as well as the structures of HPCDs. This provides information to assist the application of HPCDs in remediation of environmental pollution.