Ecotoxicity studies of some organotin compounds

The ecotoxicities of three organic compounds containing spacer groups, an intermediate organotin premonomer, four organotin monomers, their homopolymers and six copolymers of tributylin α‐chloroacrylate (TCA) are reported against two microorganisms viz., Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Sarcina lutea and a larval species Anemia salina (Nauplii II). The organic compounds containing spacer group were less toxic whereas the monomers were found to be highly toxic. The homopolymers were found to be more toxic than that of tributyltin acrylate (TBTAA), tributyltin methacrylate (TBTMA) and tributyltin α‐Chloroacrylate (TCA). The toxicity of TCA copolymers increased with the increase in tributyltin (TBT) content in the polymer. From this study it was not possible to establish any relationship between the chemical nature of the comonomer with its toxicity.