Determination of pharmaceuticals of various therapeutic classes by solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry analysis in hospital effluent wastewaters

Enantioselective toxicity of propranolol on marine diatoms: Assessing growth, energy metabolism and oxidative damage in Phaeodactylum tricornutum

Concern about the presence of pharmaceuticals in aquatic systems has increased in recent years owing to their continued release and the impact they may have on non-target organisms. Over half of these pharmaceuticals are chiral, with enantiomers that may have different pharmacokinetics and effects. However, most studies on their toxicity in marine biota have used racemic mixtures, ignoring the effects of isolated enantiomers. This work examines the potential enantioselective toxic effects of the chiral β-blocker propranolol, widely prescribed for cardiovascular diseases and migraines, and increasingly concerning due to its long-term use and raising consumption. This study used the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum as a model organism to assess the effect of each enantiomer on growth, photosynthesis, energy metabolism, and oxidative damage. The results showed that exposure of diatoms to R-propranolol induced growth inhibition due to deficiencies in photochemical metabolism, which was reflected in changes in the photosynthetic pigment profile. Oxidative stress also occurred in cells, resulting in lipid oxidation and DNA damage. In contrast, such effects were not observed for the S-enantiomer at the tested concentrations. This work shows the importance of considering enantiomer-specific effects in ecotoxicological assessments, as the two PRO enantiomers exhibit different toxicities in marine diatoms.

Development and application of a LC-HRMS method for simultaneous determination of ten illicit antifungal drugs in herbal bacteriostatic products

The widespread use of sub-therapeutic antibiotics may lead to treatment failures, increased resistance to antibiotics, and even the encouragement of the formation of superbugs. Fraudulent herbal medicines that actually contain unlabeled active ingredients are a global problem. Therefore, streamlined and accurate analytical techniques that can identify and quantify a variety of antimicrobials in suspected illegal products are required. In the present work, we developed a sensitive, robust, and accurate method that involves multi-step extraction, EMR-lipid-based pass-through cleanup, and UHPLC-Q/HRMS with an orbital ion trap instrument analysis for the simultaneous detection of ten illicit antifungal drugs (flucytosine, fluconazole, ketoconazole, naftifine hydrochloride, griseofulvin, bifonazole, econazole nitrate, elubiol, clotrimazole, and miconazole nitrate) in herbal disinfection products. This validated method was then applied to 210 authentic samples, resulting in 25% of the samples being positive for the drugs. The results suggested the need to strengthen controls in this field to detect illicit antifungal drugs in herbal bacteriostatic products, which represents a potential health risk for the consumer. On a global scale, more and more frequent routine monitoring is being carried out in this area. This study provides valuable insights into large-scale complex sample chemical profiling, and the method developed appears to be promising and applicable for high-throughput routine multiple antibiotic analysis in a complex sample matrix.

Microbes as Resources to Remove PPCPs and Improve Water Quality

The inadequate removal of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) by traditional wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) poses a significant environmental and public health challenge. Residual PPCPs find their way into aquatic ecosystems, leading to bioaccumulation in aquatic biota, the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), and contamination of both water sources and vegetables. These persistent pollutants can have negative effects on human health, ranging from antibiotic resistance development to endocrine disruption. To mitigate these risks, there is a growing interest in exploiting microorganisms and their enzymes for bioremediation purposes. By harnessing the metabolic capabilities of microbial communities, PPCPs can be efficiently degraded, transformed, or sequestered in water systems. Additionally, microbial communities exhibit remarkable adaptability and resilience to diverse PPCP contaminants, further underscoring their potential as sustainable and cost-effective solutions for water treatment. This review explores the promise of microbial bioremediation as an approach to addressing the complex challenges posed by persistent PPCP contamination, emphasising its potential to safeguard both environmental integrity and human well-being.

Occurrence, removal and environmental risk assessment of pharmaceutical active compounds (PhACs) and metabolites in hospital wastewater

In recent years, the widespread detection of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in aquatic environments has become a global concern, and wastewater discharged from hospitals is an important source. This study investigated the occurrence, removal efficiency and risk assessment of 74 commonly used pharmaceutical active compounds (PhACs), including 58 antibiotics, seven psychiatric drugs, four nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, three β-blockers and two lipid regulators, at wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in 11 hospitals. A total of 51 PhACs were detected in the wastewater effluents of 11 hospitals, with concentrations of 0.00089 (alprenolol) ∼ 69 µg/L (acetaminophen) in the influent samples and 0.00057 (alprenolol) ∼ 5.7 µg/L (theophylline) in the effluent samples. Under the same scales, the concentrations of PhACs in the influent of psychiatric hospital WWTP were 1.16 times and 2.28 times greater than those of general hospital and infectious disease hospital, respectively, and the concentrations in small and large hospitals were comparable and were approximately 1.73 times greater than those in medium hospitals, suggesting the influence of the hospital type and scale on the discharge characteristics of PhACs. The removal efficiency of PhACs ranged from negative to 100 %. The removal efficiency of the membrane bioreactor (MBR) was 53.98 %, which was better than that of the biological contact oxidation (BCO). An environmental risk assessment revealed that the PhACs detected in hospital wastewater might pose potential risks to the aquatic environment. In addition, attention should be paid to the management of wastewater discharge in special hospitals and small and medium hospitals. This study provides a basis for the management and control of PhACs in hospitals in China.

Antibiotic residue contamination in the aquatic environment, sources and associated potential health risks

Antibiotic residues are widely recognized as major pollutants in the aquatic environment on a global scale. As a significant class of pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs), antibiotics are extensively consumed worldwide. The primary sources of these residues include hospitals, municipal sewage, household disposal, and manures from animal husbandry. These residues are frequently detected in surface and drinking waters, sewage effluents, soils, sediments, and various plant species in countries such as China, Japan, South Korea, Europe, the USA, Canada, and India. Antibiotics are used medicinally in both humans and animals, with a substantial portion excreted into the environment as metabolites in feces and urine. With the advancement of sensitive and quantitative analytical techniques, antibiotics are consistently reported in environmental matrices at concentrations ranging from nanograms per liter (ng/L) to milligrams per liter (mg/L). Agricultural soils, in particular, serve as a significant reservoir for antibiotic residues due to their strong particle adsorption capacities. Plants grown in soils irrigated with PhAC-contaminated water can uptake and accumulate these pharmaceuticals in various tissues, such as roots, leaves, and fruits, raising serious concerns regarding their consumption by humans and animals. There is an increasing need for research to understand the potential human health risks associated with the accumulation of antibiotics in the food chain. The present reviews aims to shed light on the rising environmental pharmaceutical contamination concerns, their sources in the environment, and the potential health risks as well as remediation effort. To discuss the main knowledge gaps and the future research that should be prioritized to achieve the risk assessment. We examined and summarized the available data and information on the antibiotic resistance associated with antibiotic residues in the environment. As studies have indicated that vegetables can absorb, transport, and accumulate antibiotics in edible parts when irrigated with wastewater that is either inadequately treated or untreated. These residues and their metabolites can enter the food chain, with their persistence, bioaccumulation, and toxicity contributing to drug resistance and adverse health effects in living organisms.

Environmental risk assessment of selected pharmaceuticals in hospital wastewater in nothern Vietnam

Pharmaceuticals are progressively employed in both human and veterinary medicine and increasingly recognized as environmental contaminants. This study investigated the occurrence of selected pharmaceuticals in influent and effluent of wastewater treatment plants of 12 hospitals in Hanoi and 3 northern cities of Vietnam during dry and rainy seasons. In addition, environmental risk of pharmaceuticals in both hospital influents and effluents were evaluated based on risk quotients (RQs). Nine selected pharmaceutical compounds including sulfamethoxazole (SMX), naproxen (NPX), diclofenac (DCF), ibuprofen (IBU), acetaminophen (ACT), carbamazepine (CBM), iopromide (IOP), atenolol (ATN), and caffeine (CAF) were frequently detected in most influent and effluent wastewaters of 12 investigated hospitals. Detected compound levels exhibited a wide range, from as low as 1 ng/L for DCF to as high as 61,772 ng/L for ACT. Among these compounds, ACT, CAF, SMX, and IOP were consistently detected at substantial concentrations in both influents and effluents. This investigation also highlighted potential risks posed by SMX, ACT, and CAF residues present in influents and effluents of hospital wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) to aquatic ecosystem. These finding are expected to provide scientific-based evidence for the development of hospital waste management and environmental management programs in Vietnam.

Ketorolac removal through photoelectrocatalysis using TiO2 nanotubes in water system

Ketorolac, a highly persistent NSAID of environmental concern, was significantly removed from water (80% removal) through photoelectrocatalysis where titanium dioxide nanotubes prepared by Ti foil electrochemical anodization at 30 V were used as photoanodes. Fifteen milligrams per liter of ketorolac solutions in a 0.05 M Na2SO4 aqueous medium was subjected to irradiation from a 365-nm light with an intensity of 1 mWcm-2 and under an applied potential of 1.3 V (vs. Hg/Hg2SO4/sat.K2SO4) at pH 6.0. When each process (photo and electrocatalysis) was carried out separately, less than 20% drug removal was achieved as monitored through UV-vis spectrophotometry. Through scavenging experiments, direct oxidation on the photogenerated holes and oxidation by hydroxyl radical formation were found to play a key role on ketorolac's degradation. Chemical oxygen demand (COD) analyses also showed a significant COD decreased (68%) since the initial COD value was 31.3 mg O2/L and the final COD value was 10.1 mg O2/L. A 48% mineralization was also achieved, as shown by total organic carbon (TOC) analyses. These results showed that electrodes based on titania nanotubes are a promising alternative material for simultaneous photocatalytic and electrocatalytic processes in water remediation.

Pharmaceutical residues in the ecosystem: Antibiotic resistance, health impacts, and removal techniques

Hospital wastewater has emerged as a major category of environmental pollutants over the past two decades, but its prevalence in freshwater is less well documented than other types of contaminants. Due to compound complexity and improper operations, conventional treatment is unable to remove pharmaceuticals from hospital wastewater. Advanced treatment technologies may eliminate pharmaceuticals, but there are still concerns about cost and energy use. There should be a legal and regulatory framework in place to control the flow of hospital wastewater. Here, we review the latest scientific knowledge regarding effective pharmaceutical cleanup strategies and treatment procedures to achieve that goal. Successful treatment techniques are also highlighted, such as pre-treatment or on-site facilities that control hospital wastewater where it is used in hospitals. Due to the prioritization, the regulatory agencies will be able to assess and monitor the concentration of pharmaceutical residues in groundwater, surface water, and drinking water. Based on the data obtained, the conventional WWTPs remove 10-60% of pharmaceutical residues. However, most PhACs are eliminated during the secondary or advanced therapy stages, and an overall elimination rate higher than 90% can be achieved. This review also highlights and compares the suitability of currently used treatment technologies and identifies the merits and demerits of each technology to upgrade the system to tackle future challenges. For this reason, pharmaceutical compound rankings in regulatory agencies should be the subject of prospective studies.

Quantification of pharmaceuticals in hospital effluent: Weighted ranking of environmental risk using a fuzzy hybrid multicriteria method

An analytical method for quantification of seventeen pharmaceuticals and one metabolite was validated and applied in the analysis of hospital effluent samples. Two different sampling strategies were used: seasonal sampling, with 7 samples collected bimonthly; and hourly sampling, with 12 samples collected during 12 h. Thus, the variability was both seasonal and within the same day. High variability was observed in the measured concentrations of the pharmaceuticals and the metabolite. The quantification method, performed using weighted linear regression model, demonstrated results of average concentrations in seasonal samples ranged between 0.19 μgL-1 (carbamazepine) and higher than 61.56 μgL-1 (acetaminophen), while the hourly samples showed average concentrations between 0.07 μgL-1 (diazepam) and higher than 54.91 μgL-1 (acetaminophen). It is described as higher because the maximum concentration of the calibration curve took into account the dilution factor provided by DLLME. The diurnal results showed a trend towards higher concentrations in the first and last hours of sampling. The risk quotient (RQ) was calculated using organisms from three different trophic levels, for all the analytes quantified in the samples. Additionally, in order to understand the level of importance of each RQ, an expert panel was established, with contributions from 23 specialists in the area. The results were analyzed using a hybrid decision-making approach based on a Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) and the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method, in order to rank the compounds by environmental risk priority. The compounds of greatest concern were losartan, acetaminophen, 4-aminoantipyrine, sulfamethoxazole, and metoclopramide. Comparison of the environmental risk priority ranking with the potential human health risk was performed by applying the same multicriteria approach, with the prediction of endpoints using in silico (Q)SAR models. The results obtained suggested that sulfamethoxazole and acetaminophen were the most important analytes to be considered for monitoring.

Antimicrobials and antimicrobial resistance genes in a one-year city metabolism longitudinal study using wastewater-based epidemiology

This longitudinal study tests correlations between antimicrobial agents (AA) and corresponding antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) generated by a community of >100 k people inhabiting one city (Bath) over a 13 month randomised monitoring programme of community wastewater. Several AAs experienced seasonal fluctuations, such as the macrolides erythromycin and clarithromycin that were found in higher loads in winter, whilst other AA levels, including sulfamethoxazole and sulfapyridine, stayed consistent over the study period. Interestingly, and as opposed to AAs, ARGs prevalence was found to be less variable, which indicates that fluctuations in AA usage might either not directly affect ARG levels or this process spans beyond the 13-month monitoring period. However, it is important to note that weekly positive correlations between individual associated AAs and ARGs were observed where seasonal variability in AA use was reported: ermB and macrolides CLR-clarithromycin and dmCLR-N-desmethyl clarithromycin, aSPY- N-acetyl sulfapyridine and sul1, and OFX-ofloxacin and qnrS. Furthermore, ARG loads normalised to 16S rRNA (gene load per microorganism) were positively correlated to the ARG loads normalised to the human population (gene load per capita), which indicates that the abundance of microorganisms is proportional to the size of human population and that the community size, and not AA levels, is a major driver of ARG levels in wastewater. Comparison of hospital and community wastewater showed higher number of AAs and their metabolites, their frequency of occurrence and concentrations in hospital wastewater. Examples include: LZD-linezolid (used only in severe bacterial infections) and AMX-amoxicillin (widely used, also in community but with very low wastewater stability) that were found only in hospital wastewater. CIP-ciprofloxacin, SMX-sulfamethoxazole, TMP-trimethoprim, MTZ-metronidazole and macrolides were found at much higher concentrations in hospital wastewater while TET-tetracycline and OTC-oxytetracycline, as well as antiretrovirals, had an opposite trend. In contrast, comparable concentrations of resistant genes were observed in both community and hospital wastewater. This supports the hypothesis that AMR levels are more of an endemic nature, developing over time in individual communities. Both hospital and community wastewater had AAs that exceeded PNEC values (e.g. CLR-clarithromycin, CIP-ciprofloxacin). In general, though, hospital effluents had a greater number of quantifiable AAs exceeding PNECs (e.g. SMX-sulfamethoxazole, ERY-erythromycin, TMP-trimethoprim). Hospitals are therefore an important consideration in AMR surveillance as could be high risk areas for AMR.

Pharmaceuticals in hospital wastewaters: an analysis of the UBA's pharmaceutical database

The presence of pharmaceuticals in hospital wastewaters (HWW) has been a focus of interest for researchers in the last decades. Certain therapeutic classes, such as X-ray contrast media, broad-spectrum antimicrobials and cytotoxics among others, are mainly used in hospitals-health care facilities. This study is focused on available studies monitoring the presence of pharmaceuticals in HWW around the world. To that end, the last available version (v3. 2021) of the "Pharmaceuticals in the Environment" database published by the Federal German Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt) has been used. Almost half of all studies included (107) have been conducted in Europe. Pharmaceuticals have been monitored in HWW in 38 different countries across all five continents. The country with the greatest number of studies is Brazil (11), followed by Spain (8), China (7), and France (6). Our analysis revealed that 271 different pharmaceuticals have been detected at least once in HWW. The five drugs with more studies showing a positive detection are ciprofloxacin (38), sulfamethoxazole (36), diclofenac (34), ibuprofen (29), and trimethoprim (27). A total of 47 out of 271 drugs are considered in the NIOSH "Hazardous drug" list. However, monitoring data for some widely used drugs in hospital settings such as muscle relaxants, anesthetics, and antidotes is lacking. In conclusion, this study provides the first large-scale metadata analysis for the pharmaceuticals in HWW worldwide.

Global trends in the research and development of medical/pharmaceutical wastewater treatment over the half-century

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted public health and the worldwide economy. The overstretched operation of health systems around the world is accompanied by potential and ongoing environmental threats. At present, comprehensive scientific assessments of research on temporal changes in medical/pharmaceutical wastewater (MPWW), as well as estimations of researcher networks and scientific productivity are lacking. Therefore, we conducted a thorough literature study, using bibliometrics to reproduce research on medical wastewater over nearly half a century. Our primary goal is systematically to map the evolution of keyword clusters over time, and to obtain the structure and credibility of clusters. Our secondary objective was to measure research network performance (country, institution, and author) using CiteSpace and VOSviewer. We extracted 2306 papers published between 1981 and 2022. The co-cited reference network identified 16 clusters with well-structured networks (Q = 0.7716, S = 0.896). The main trends were as follows: 1) Early MPWW research prioritized sources of wastewater, and this cluster was considered to be the mainstream research frontier and direction, representing an important source and priority research area. 2) Mid-term research focused on characteristic contaminants and detection technologies. Particularly during 2000-2010, a period of rapid developments in global medical systems, pharmaceutical compounds (PhCs) in MPWW were recognized as a major threat to human health and the environment. 3) Recent research has focused on novel degradation technologies for PhC-containing MPWW, with high scores for research on biological methods. Wastewater-based epidemiology has emerged as being consistent with or predictive of the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases. Therefore, the application of MPWW in COVID-19 tracing will be of great interest to environmentalists. These results could guide the future direction of funding agencies and research groups.

New fluorescent probe for sensing of mefenamic acid in aqueous medium: An integrated experimental and theoretical analysis

Abnormal levels of mefenamic acid (MFA) in living organisms can result in hepatic necrosis, liver, and gastrointestinal diseases. Therefore, development of accurate and effective method for detection of MFA is of great significance for the protection of public health. Herein, we designed a stilbene based sensor ECO for the sensitive and selective detection of mefenamic acid by employing fluorescence spectroscopy for the first time. The developed sensor ECO displayed fluorescence turn-off response towards MFA based on PET (photoinduced electron transfer) and hydrogen bonding. The sensing mechanism of MFA was investigated through ¹H NMR titration experiment and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The presence of non-covalent interaction was confirmed through spectroscopic analysis and was further supported by non-covalent interaction (NCI) analysis and Bader's quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) analysis. Additionally, the sensor ECO coated test strips were fabricated for on-site detection of mefenamic acid. Furthermore, the practical applicability of sensor ECO to detect MFA was also explored in human blood and artificial urine samples.

Monolithic and compressible MIL-101(Cr)/cellulose aerogel/melamine sponge based microextraction in packed syringe towards trace nitroimidazoles in water samples prior to UPLC-MS/MS analysis

In this study, MIL-101(Cr)/cellulose aerogel/melamine sponge composite was fabricated through a simple soaking method. The composite was packed in the syringe barrel and used as the sorbent for microextraction in packed syringe. Coupled to UPLC-MS/MS, the proposed method was employed for the analysis of trace nitroimidazoles in water samples. The parameters affecting the extraction efficiency, including sorbent type, pH value of sample solution, sample solution volume and elution solvent were optimized. Under the optimal conditions, good linearity (r > 0.99 for five analytes), high sensitivity (limit of detection: 8.250-16.33 ng L^-1), ideal precision (intra-day precision: 1.1%-5.3%, inter-day precision: 1.8%-6.7%) and satisfactory accuracy (recovery: 70.4%-96.7%) were achieved. The proposed method was proved to be efficient, easily operative and environmentally friendly.

End-of-life management strategies of pharmaceuticals in Portuguese households

The end of life of pharmaceutical products through environmentally unsafe routes is a growing concern in our society. However, the studies reported so far, apart from being limited in number, do not reflect the current management practices for the end-of-life management of pharmaceuticals. Published work lacks an in-depth analysis in focusing on the pharmaceutical waste in households. The present work focused on (1) performing a state-of-the art overview to compare worldwide studies and the results and (2) implementing a comprehensive survey in Portugal (n = 454 respondents). The results showed that the delivery to pharmacies was used by the majority of the respondents (72%), indicating a good awareness of pharmaceutical waste management issues, when compared to the reviewed studies. Statistically significant variables for the destination of end-of-use pharmaceuticals include gender, age and distance from the residence to the pharmacy (p < 0.05). Most participants believe that educating the population on existing structures of medication and packaging management is of the utmost importance to improve the national managing system. This is the first study conducted in Portugal; it includes statistical analysis of the data and reflects on the practices that should be adopted to reduce incorrect pharmaceutical waste disposal. These findings call upon the strategies to strengthen the pharmaceutical waste management programme.

Sample pretreatment and analytical methodology for the determination of antibiotics in swine wastewater and activated sludge

An analytical method for the simultaneous extraction and determination of eight veterinary antibiotics in swine wastewater and activated sludge was developed and validated based on the instrumental determination by liquid chromatography tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry. Ultrasound-assisted extraction and solid-phase extraction were introduced into the pretreatment procedure of the two complex environmental matrices. The critical steps involved in the sample pretreatment procedure and the instrumental analysis conditions were optimized progressively. Recoveries of the optimized method were good with 75.3-118.2% in wastewater and 82.8-130.1% in sludge. The absolute deviations of methods were lower than 11.7%, presenting a high reproducibility and precision. The limits of quantification for the eight pharmaceuticals in wastewater and sludge were 5-15 ng·L^-1 and 2-6 ng·g^-1, showing high sensitivity of the methods. The developed method has been successfully applied to evaluate the actual concentration levels of tetracyclines, quinolones, and sulfonamides in actual swine wastewater (maximum detected concentration of 87.377 μg·L^-1) and activated sludge (maximum detected concentration of 51242.3 ng·g^-1).

Geochemical matrix differently affects the response of internal standards and target analytes for pesticide transformation products measured in groundwater samples

Electrospray ionization (ESI) is the most common technique in liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) allowing for sensitive detection of polar compounds with online water concentration. The technique is popular in groundwater monitoring programs and has permitted great progress in the detection and quantification of polar pesticide transformation products (TP) in recent years. However, ESI is also known to be prone to matrix effects. The common solution to this potential bias is the use of labelled internal standards. Unfortunately, these are not available for all target compounds, which leads to the linkage of target compounds to non-homologue internal standards with unknown consequences for quantification in variable geochemical settings. We investigated these matrix effects for polar TP with a molecular mass range of 225-350 Da and logD_pH7 between -0.27 and -1.7 as well as for parent compounds with logD_pH3 between 0.84 and 3.22. The acquired internal standards were tested on a gradient of DOC, anions, conductivity and inorganic carbon with a set of ten carefully chosen groundwater samples. Internal standards that were measured in positive ionization mode proved to be insensitive to geochemical variations while those that were measured in negative ionization mode showed reduced response with increasing anion concentration. All pairs of internal standards and target analytes were investigated for deviating matrix effects using standard addition experiments. Positive ionization compounds and target compounds with deuterated homologues showed little deviation while non-homologue pairs in negative mode proved to be strongly biased. Although bias was up to factor five for some compounds it was remarkably stable over the entire gradient studied, suggesting an identical suppression mode at varying matrix levels for different compounds. We advocate the conduct of standard addition experiments if homologue internal standards are not available.

Fate of selected pharmaceuticals in hospital and municipal wastewater effluent: occurrence, removal, and environmental risk assessment

The concentrations and distribution of β-blockers, lipid regulators, and psychiatric and cancer drugs in the influent and effluent of the municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and the effluent of 16 hospitals that discharge into the wastewater treatment plant mentioned in this study at two sampling dates in summer and winter were examined. The pharmaceutical contribution of hospitals to municipal wastewater was determined. The removal of target pharmaceuticals was evaluated in a WWTP consisting of conventional biological treatment using activated sludge. Additionally, the potential environmental risk for the aquatic receiving environments (salt lake) was assessed. Beta-blockers and psychiatric drugs were detected in high concentrations in the wastewater samples. Atenolol (919 ng/L) from β-blockers and carbamazepine (7008 ng/L) from psychiatric pharmaceuticals were detected at the highest concentrations in hospital wastewater. The total pharmaceutical concentration determined at the WWTP influent and effluent was between 335 and 737 ng/L in summer and between 174 and 226 ng/L in winter. The concentrations detected in hospital effluents are higher than the concentrations detected in WWTP. The total pharmaceutical contributions from hospitals to the WWTP in summer and winter were determined to be 2% and 4%, respectively. Total pharmaceutical removal in the WWTP ranged from 23 to 54%. According to the risk ratios, atenolol could pose a high risk (risk quotient > 10) for fish in summer and winter. There are different reasons for the increase in pharmaceutical consumption in recent years. One of these reasons is the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been going on for 2 years. In particular, hospitals were operated at full capacity during the pandemic, and the occurrence and concentration of pharmaceuticals used for the therapy of COVID-19 patients has increased in hospital effluent. Pandemic conditions have increased the tendency of people to use psychiatric drugs. It is thought that beta-blocker consumption has increased due to cardiovascular diseases caused by COVID-19. Therefore, the environmental risk of pharmaceuticals for aquatic organisms in hospital effluent should be monitored and evaluated.

Preparation and application of nano petal-shaped covalent organic frameworks modified polystyrene-divinylbenzene- glycidylmethacrylate microspheres for the extraction of illicit drugs from wastewater

A novel nano petal-shaped covalent organic frameworks modified magnetic polystyrene-divinylbenzene-glycidylmethacrylate (NP-COF@Mag-PS/DVB/GMA) microsphere has been synthesized. It is a perfect combination of high productivity of PS/DVB/GMA microspheres and excellent enrichment efficiency of COF particles, and the excellent properties of NP-COF@Mag-PS/DVB/GMA microspheres are characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The sorbent can extract illicit drugs via the reverse-phase interactions provided by benzene ring on the polymer backbone and the hydrogen bonding interactions provided by functional group (-NH-) on the COF particles. Based on using NP-COF@Mag-PS/DVB/GMA as sorbents, an easiness-to-handle of magnetic dispersive solid phase extraction (Mag-dSPE) procedure is proposed for the simultaneous preconcentration of 12 illicit drugs from wastewater. The obtained results show high extraction efficiency of NP-COF@Mag-PS/DVB/GMA to illicit drugs with recoveries between 81.6 and 116%. Furthermore, a liquid chromatography-tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for the determination of 12 illicit drugs from wastewater at sub-ppt levels has been proposed and validated with the pretreatment of samples by Mag-dSPE. The limits of quantification (LOQs) for the 12 illicit drugs are between 0.40 and 4.90 ng/L. Validation results on linearity, specificity, trueness and precision, as well as on application to the analysis of 12 illicit drugs in ten real samples demonstrate the applicability to environment monitoring analysis.

Characterization of non-volatile organic contaminants in coking wastewater using non-target screening: Dominance of nitrogen, sulfur, and oxygen-containing compounds in biological effluents

While abundant volatile compounds (VOCs) have been identified in coking wastewater, the structures and occurrence of non-volatile organic compounds (non-VOCs) have remained unknown. In this study, 3966 non-VOCs belonging to 24 groups were tentatively identified for the first time in wastewater from four biological coking wastewater treatment systems in northern China using a non-target screening technique. A total of 227 compounds with CHNO, CHO, CHOS, and CHNOS elemental compositions were assigned with level 2 identification confidence, and 19 of them were confirmed with authentic standards, with 9-methyl-9H-carbazole-3-carbaldehyde (1706.3-2032.7 μg/L) and 3-Indolyl acetic acid monomethyl terephthalate (773.7-1449.9 μg/L) as the top two compounds in the influents, and 9-methyl-9H-carbazole-3-carbaldehyde (31.8-130.1 μg/L) and monomethyl terephthalate (13.9-196.6 μg/L) as the top two in the effluents. The four groups of substances accounted for 93.4% and 71.5% of the total responses of tentatively identified compounds in the influents and biological effluents, respectively, and were estimated to contribute 32.3-48.9% of the chemical oxygen demand in the biological effluents. In comparison with those in the influent, abundant S-containing compounds (CHOS and CHNOS, 35.2% of the total responses) were observed in the biological effluents, suggesting their highly bio-refractory characteristics. The advanced treatment process using synchronized oxidation-adsorption could almost completely remove the CHOS and CHNOS compounds from the biological effluents.

Road runoff as a significant nonpoint source of parabens and their metabolites in urban rivers

Parabens are widely added to food, cosmetics, and medicines as preservatives and are typical contaminants of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs). However, their fate and transport in urban watersheds remain largely unexplored. This study investigated the role of road runoff as a critical nonpoint source of parabens and their metabolites in urban rivers based on 73 multimedia (road runoff and dust in different urban land uses, wastewater, stormwater discharge and river water) samples collected from a highly urbanized drainage area. Seven parabens and five metabolites were detected in the road runoff, with mean concentrations of ∑parabens and ∑metabolites equal to 47.5 ng/L and 4710 ng/L, respectively. The concentrations in road runoff were comparable to those in treated wastewater and river water and showed a land use pattern of residential > industrial > commercial. A first flush effect of the contaminants was observed in a heavy rainfall event with an antecedent dry period. In general, the population-based and area-based emission intensities of ∑parabens and ∑metabolites in road runoff were one order of magnitude higher than those in wastewater effluent during the rainfall events. This study provides quantitative evidence that road runoff can be a major pollution source of parabens and their metabolites in rapidly growing cities during the wet season and calls for the integrated management of nonpoint sources to prevent urban river contamination by typical PPCPs.

Crosslinked 4-Vinylpyridine Monodisperse Functional Microspheres for Sorption of Ibuprofen and Ketoprofen

Nowadays, ibuprofen and ketoprofen are widely used over-the-counter medications to treat inflammation, fever, or pain. Their high consumption and improper disposal cause them to get into the environment and often pollute surface water. In this study, the new polymeric porous microspheres based on 4-vinylpyridine (4VP) are presented as effective sorbents for ibuprofen and ketoprofen preconcentration and removal. The porous microspheres were obtained via seed swelling polymerization with the use of two types of methacrylate crosslinkers, i.e., trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate (TRIM) and 1,4-dimethacryloiloxybenzene (14DMB). Additionally, as a reference sorbent, a copolymer of styrene and divinylbenzene was obtained. Porous structure investigations showed that the microspheres possess a specific surface area of about 100 m²/g, but noticeable differences were observed in their internal topography depending on the type of crosslinker used. Moreover, the porous structure of dry and swollen microspheres differs significantly. Swollen copolymers reveal the presence of micropores. The 4VP microspheres are characterized by high thermal stability; their initial decomposition temperature is about 300 °C. The performance of the 4VP copolymers as sorbents in aqueous solutions of drugs was evaluated in static and dynamic modes at three pH values of 3, 7, and 11. The highest sorption efficiency was obtained for ibuprofen and ketoprofen in pH 3. Both 4VP copolymers indicate the high sorption capacity in a static sorption as follows: towards ketoprofen of about 40 mg/g whereas towards ibuprofen of about 90 mg/g and 75 mg/g on copolymer crosslinked with trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate and 1,4-dimethacryloiloxybenzene, respectively. The recovery of ibuprofen and ketoprofen after dynamic sorption experiments was higher than 90%.

Influence of physicochemical parameters on PPCP occurrences in the wetlands

There have been many global studies on the occurrence and distribution of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in the aquatic resources, but reports on the effects of physicochemical properties of water on their concentrations are very scarce. The amounts and removal of these contaminants in various environmental media are dependent on these physicochemical properties, which include pH, temperature, electrical conductivity, salinity, turbidity, and dissolved oxygen. Here, we reviewed the influence of these properties on determination of PPCPs. Reports showed that increase in turbidity, electrical conductivity, and salinity gives increase in concentrations of PPCPs. Also, neutral pH gives higher PPCP concentrations, while decrease in temperature and dissolved oxygen gives low concentration of PPCPs. Nevertheless, it is quite challenging to ascertain the influence of water quality parameters on the PPCP concentration, as other factors like climate change, type of water, source of pollution, persistence, and dilution factor may have great influence on the concentration of PPCPs. Therefore, routine monitoring is suggested as most water quality parameters vary because of effects of climate change.

A multi-biomarker approach for the early assessment of the toxicity of hospital wastewater using the freshwater organism Daphnia magna

Hospital wastewater (HWW) contains different hazardous substances resulting from a combination of medical and non-medical activities of hospitals, including pharmaceutical residues. These substances may represent a threat to the aquatic environment if they do not follow specific treatment processes. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the effects of the untreated effluent collected from a general hospital in Mahdia City (Tunisia) on neonatal stages of the freshwater crustacean Daphnia magna. Test organisms were exposed to three proportions (3.12%, 6.25%, and 12.5% v/v) of HWW. After 48 h of exposure, a battery of biomarkers was measured, including the quantification of antioxidant enzymes [catalase (CAT) and total and selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase (total GPx; Se-GPx)], phase II biotransformation isoenzymes glutathione-S-transferases (GSTs), cyclooxygenases (COX) involved in the regulation of the inflammatory process, and total cholinesterases (ChEs) activities. Lipid peroxidation (LPO) was measured to estimate oxidative damage. The here-obtained results showed significant decreases of CAT and GSTs activities and also on LPO content in daphnids, whereas Se-GPx activity was significantly increased in a dose-dependent manner. Impairment of cholinesterasic and COX activities were also observed, with a significant decrease of ChEs and an increase of COX enzymatic activities. Considering these findings, HWW was capable of inducing an imbalance of the antioxidant defense system, but without resulting in oxidative damage in test organisms, suggesting that peroxidases and alternative detoxifying pathways were able to prevent the oxidant potential of several drugs, which were found in the tested effluents. In general, this study demonstrated the toxicity of hospital effluents, measured in terms of the potential impairment of key pathways, namely neurotransmission, antioxidant defense, and inflammatory homeostasis of crustaceans.

Removal of Paracetamol from Aqueous Solutions by Photocatalytic Ozonation over TiO2-MexOy Thin Films

Analgesics and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as paracetamol, diclofenac, and ibuprofen are frequently encountered in surface and ground water, thereby posing a significant risk to aquatic ecosystems. Our study reports the catalytic performances of nanosystems TiO2-MexOy (Me = Ce, Sn) prepared by the sol-gel method and deposited onto glass slides by a dip-coating approach in the removal of paracetamol from aqueous solutions by catalytic ozonation. The effect of catalyst type and operation parameters on oxidation efficiency was assessed. In addition to improving this process, the present work simplifies it by avoiding the difficult step of catalyst separation. It was found that the thin films were capable of removing all pollutants from target compounds to the oxidation products.

Characterization of the contamination fingerprint of wastewater treatment plant effluents in the Henares River Basin (central Spain) based on target and suspect screening analysis

The interest in contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) has increased lately due to their continued emission and potential ecotoxicological hazards. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are generally not capable of eliminating them and are considered the main pathway for CECs to the aquatic environment. The number of CECs in WWTPs effluents is often so large that complementary approaches to the conventional target analysis need to be implemented. Within this context, multitarget quantitative analysis (162 compounds) and a suspect screening (>40,000 suspects) approaches were applied to characterize the CEC fingerprint in effluents of five WWTPs in the Henares River basin (central Spain) during two sampling campaigns (summer and autumn). The results indicated that 76% of the compounds quantified corresponded to pharmaceuticals, 21% to pesticides and 3% to industrial chemicals. Apart from the 82 compounds quantified, suspect screening increased the list to 297 annotated compounds. Significant differences in the CEC fingerprint were observed between summer and autumn campaigns and between the WWTPs, being those serving the city of Alcalá de Henares the ones with the largest number of compounds and concentrations. Finally, a risk prioritization approach was applied based on risk quotients (RQs) for algae, invertebrates, and fish. Azithromycin, diuron, chlortoluron, clarithromycin, sertraline and sulfamethoxazole were identified as having the largest risks to algae. As for invertebrates, the compounds having the largest RQs were carbendazim, fenoxycarb and eprosartan, and for fish acetaminophen, DEET, carbendazim, caffeine, fluconazole, and azithromycin. The two WWTPs showing higher calculated Risk Indexes had tertiary treatments, which points towards the need of increasing the removal efficiency in urban WWTPs. Furthermore, considering the complex mixtures emitted into the environment and the low dilution capacity of Mediterranean rivers, we recommend the development of detailed monitoring plans and stricter regulations to control the chemical burden created to freshwater ecosystems.

Structural Adaptive, Self-Separating Material for Removing Ibuprofen from Waters and Sewage

β-Cyclodextrin nanosponge (β-CD-M) was used for the adsorption of ibuprofen (IBU) from water and sewage. The obtained material was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), Barrett-Joyner-Halenda (BJH), Harkins and Jura t-Plot, zeta potential, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and elementary analysis (EA). Batch adsorption experiments were employed to investigate the effects of the adsorbent dose, initial IBU concentration, contact time, electrolyte ions and humic acids, and sewage over adsorption efficiency. The experimental isotherms were show off using Langmuir, Freundlich, Hill, Halsey and Sips isotherm models and thermodynamic analysis. The fits of the results were estimated according to the Sips isotherm, with a maximum adsorption capacity of 86.21 mg g-1. The experimental kinetics were studied by pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, Elovich, modified Freundlich, Weber Morris, Bangham's pore diffusion, and liquid film diffusion models. The performed experiments revealed that the adsorption process fits perfectly to the pseudo-second-order model. The Elovich and Freundlich models indicate chemisorption, and the kinetic adsorption model itself is complex. The data obtained throughout the study prove that this nanosponge (NS) is extremely stable, self-separating, and adjusting to the guest structure. It also represents a potential biodegradable adsorbent for the removal IBU from wastewaters.

Spatial and seasonal variations of endocrine disrupting compounds in water and sediment samples of Markman Canal and Swartkops River Estuary, South Africa and their ecological risk assessment

The presence of pharmaceuticals in surface water and sediment has sparked up a global concern, as they could cause harm to human health. In this study, we investigated five pharmaceuticals (caffeine, carbamazepine, sulfamethoxazole, testosterone, and trimethoprim) in surface water and sediment samples from Swartkops River Estuary and Markman Stormwater Canal, in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography (UPLC) systems coupled with a hyphenated quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (QTOF-MS) was used for the analysis. Of the five pharmaceuticals investigated, three were detected in sediment samples at concentrations ranging from BDL - 23.86 μg/kg (dw). Caffeine and sulfamethoxazole were below the detection limit. The finding of this current study suggests that Markman and Motherwell's stormwater canals were potential contributors to pollution in Swartkops River Estuary. Ecotoxicity risk assessment indicated that trimethoprim and carbamazepine could constitute potential risk to aquatic organisms in Markman Canal and Swartkops Estuary, suggesting the need for proper control measure to prevent the pollution from toxicants in aquatic resources.

Aquatic concentration and risk assessment of pharmaceutically active compounds in the environment

Pharmaceutically active compounds are increasingly detected in raw and treated wastewater, surface water, and drinking water worldwide. These compounds can cause adverse effects to the ecosystem even at low concentrations and, to assess these impacts, toxicity tests are essential. However, the toxicity data are scarce for many PhACs, and when available, they are dispersed in the literature. The values of pharmaceuticals concentration in the environment and toxicity data are essential for measuring their environmental and human health risks. Thus this review verified the concentrations of pharmaceuticals in the aquatic environment and the toxicity related to them. The risk assessment was also carried out. Diclofenac, naproxen, erythromycin, roxithromycin, and 17β-estradiol presented a high environment risk and 17α-ethinylestradiol presented a high human health risk. This shows the potential of these pharmaceuticals to cause adverse effects to the ecosystem and humans and establishes the necessity of their removal through advanced technologies.

Sensitive determination of illicit drugs in wastewater using enrichment bag-based liquid-phase microextraction and liquid-chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

To concentrate trace level of analytes in complex wastewater, sample preparation is necessary prior to instrumental analysis. In this work, an enrichment bag-based liquid-phase microextraction (EB-LPME) system was therefore proposed for the first time to isolate and enrich the illicit drugs (amphetamine, methamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), ketamine, codeine and fentanyl) from wastewater. Under the optimum EB-LPME conditions, the recoveries of the model illicit drugs were 40-93% with enrichment factors up to 93. The optimized EB-LPME was compared to hollow fiber-LPME (HF-LPME) in terms of the thickness of the supported liquid membrane (SLM), the effective SLM area, extraction recovery and mass transfer flux. Compared with HF-LPME, EB-LPME possesses larger effective SLM area, and provided higher extraction recovery. In addition, EB-LPME provided larger mass transfer flux than HF-LPME, which was mainly due to the differences in SLM thickness. Therefore, SLM thickness was identified as the main mass transfer flux-determining factor experimentally. The matrix effect of EB-LPME was evaluated using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), and excellent sample clean-up was confirmed. Subsequently, EB-LPME-LC-MS/MS was validated with satisfactory results, and the detection of limit of the proposed method was in the range of 0.3-8.7 ng/L. Finally, with standard addition method, EB-LPME-LC-MS/MS was successfully applied for the determination of the model drugs in a local hospital wastewater from Wuhan, China. This study clearly showed that EB-LPME displayed great potential as an efficient sample preparation method for isolation and enrichment of the drugs/pollutants from complex environmental samples for wastewater-based epidemiology in the near future.

Development and Characterization of Activated Carbon from Olive Pomace: Experimental Design, Kinetic and Equilibrium Studies in Nimesulide Adsorption

The lack of adequate treatment for the removal of pollutants from domestic, hospital and industrial effluents has caused great environmental concern. Therefore, there is a need to develop materials that have the capacity to treat these effluents. This work aims to develop and characterize an activated charcoal from olive pomace, which is an agro-industrial residue, for adsorption of Nimesulide in liquid effluent and to evaluate the adsorption kinetics and equilibrium using experimental design. The raw material was oven dried at 105 °C for 24 h, ground, chemically activated in a ratio of 1:0.8:0.2 of olive pomace, zinc chloride and calcium hydroxide and thermally activated by pyrolysis in a reactor of stainless steel at 550 °C for 30 min. The activated carbon was characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray Diffractometry (XRD), Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET) method, Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), density and zero charge potential analysis. The surface area obtained was 650.9 m² g⁻¹. The kinetic and isothermal mathematical models that best described the adsorption were PSO and Freundlich and the highest adsorption capacity obtained was 353.27 mg g⁻¹. The results obtained showed the good performance of activated carbon produced from olive pomace as an adsorbent material and demonstrated great potential for removing emerging contaminants such as Nimesulide.

Hospital Wastewater-Source of Specific Micropollutants, Antibiotic-Resistant Microorganisms, Viruses, and Their Elimination

Municipal wastewaters can generally provide real-time information on drug consumption, the incidence of specific diseases, or establish exposure to certain agents and determine some lifestyle consequences. From this point of view, wastewater-based epidemiology represents a modern diagnostic tool for describing the health status of a certain part of the population in a specific region. Hospital wastewater is a complex mixture of pharmaceuticals, illegal drugs, and their metabolites as well as different susceptible and antibiotic-resistant microorganisms, including viruses. Many studies pointed out that wastewater from healthcare facilities (including hospital wastewater), significantly contributes to higher loads of micropollutants, including bacteria and viruses, in municipal wastewater. In addition, such a mixture can increase the selective pressure on bacteria, thus contributing to the development and dissemination of antimicrobial resistance. Because many pharmaceuticals, drugs, and microorganisms can pass through wastewater treatment plants without any significant change in their structure and toxicity and enter surface waters, treatment technologies need to be improved. This short review summarizes the recent knowledge from studies on micropollutants, pathogens, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and viruses (including SARS-CoV-2) in wastewater from healthcare facilities. It also proposes several possibilities for improving the wastewater treatment process in terms of efficiency as well as economy.

Effective treatment of hospital wastewater with high-concentration diclofenac and ibuprofen using a promising technology based on degradation reaction catalyzed by Fe0 under microwave irradiation

Real hospital wastewater was effectively treated by a promising technology based on degradation reaction catalyzed by Fe⁰ under microwave irradiation in this work. Fe⁰ powders were synthesized and characterized by different techniques, resulting in a single-phase sample with spherical particles. Optimum experimental conditions were determined by a central composite rotatable design combined with a response surface methodology, resulting in 96.8% of chemical oxygen demand reduction and 100% organic carbon removal, after applying MW power of 780 W and Fe⁰ dosage of 0.36 g L^-1 for 60 min. Amongst the several organic compounds identified in the wastewater sample, diclofenac and ibuprofen were present in higher concentrations; therefore, they were set as target pollutants. Both compounds were completely degraded in 35 min of reaction time. Their plausible degradation pathways were investigated and proposed. Overall, the method developed in this work effectively removed high concentrations of pharmaceuticals in hospital wastewater.

Suspect screening workflow comparison for the analysis of organic xenobiotics in environmental water samples

Suspect screening techniques are able to determine a broader range of compounds than traditional target analysis. However, the performance of the suspect techniques relies on the procedures implemented for peak annotation and for this, the list of potential candidates is clearly a limiting factor. In order to study this effect on the number of compounds annotated in environmental water samples, a method was validated in terms of absolute recoveries, limits of quantification and identification, as well as the peak picking capability of the software (Compound Discoverer 2.1) using a target list of 178 xenobiotics. Four suspect screening workflows using different suspect lists were compared: (i) the Stoffident list, (ii) all the NORMAN lists, (iii) suspects containing C, H, O, N, S, P, F or Cl in their molecular formula with more than 10 references in Chemspider and (iv) the mzCloud library. The results were compared in terms of the number of annotated compounds at each confidence level. The same 8 compounds (atenolol, caffeine, caprolactam, carbendazim, cotinine, diclofenac, propyphenazone and trimetoprim) were annotated at the highest confidence level using the four workflows. Remarkable differences were observed for lower confidence levels but only 4 features were annotated at different levels by the four workflows. While the third approach provided the highest number of annotated features, the workflow based on the mzCloud library rendered satisfactory results with a simpler approach. Finally, this latter approach was extended to the analysis of organic xenobiotics in different environmental water samples.

Community Pharmacists' Practice, Awareness, and Beliefs about Drug Disposal in Saudi Arabia

The awareness among Saudi people regarding the good and safe practice of drug disposal is fairly low. Community pharmacists’ potential toward drugs disposal directions and practice are not emphasized enough. Therefore, a cross sectional study was conducted in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to evaluate the practice, awareness and beliefs of community pharmacists about disposal of unused drugs. Out of 360 subjects who participated in the study, more than 70% returned the unused drugs to the pharmaceutical distributors. Around 80% of the participants confirmed the risk of environmental damage due to the inappropriate disposal of drugs, and 87.5% of them held themselves responsible for preventing such risk. Approximately 85% of surveyed pharmacists believed community pharmacies to be an appropriate location for the collection of unused drugs. There was no significant association between the community pharmacists’ age group and years of practice as community pharmacists with either the awareness of unused medication disposal on environmental hazards, or the beliefs about the appropriate location for collecting unused drugs (p > 0.05). The awareness and proactive accountable responsibility, along with community pharmacists’ belief of appointing pharmacies to collect unused drugs, strongly support the institution of drug take-back programs.

Correction of Matrix Effects for Reliable Non-target Screening LC-ESI-MS Analysis of Wastewater

Matrix effects are well-known challenges for accurate and comparable measurements with liquid chromatography (LC) electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). This study describes a three-step method to evaluate and compensate for matrix effects in enriched wastewater extracts using LC ESI-high-resolution MS (HRMS). As a first step, the "dilute and shoot" approach was used to determine the optimal relative enrichment factor (REF) for a direct comparison between wastewater influent (REF 10) and effluent (REF 50) extracts. However, the rapid decrease in the number of non-target compounds detected with increasing dilution leads to the need for a correction of the matrix effect for analyzing samples with higher REFs. As a second step, the observed matrix effect at higher REFs was corrected by the retention time-dependent matrix effect. A new scaling (TiChri scale) of the matrix effect was introduced, which demonstrates that the total ion chromatogram (TIC) predicts the matrix effect as effectively as post-column infusion (PCI) approaches; thus, the average median matrix effect was improved from -65 to 1% for influent (REF 100) and from -46 to -2% for effluent extracts (REF 250). The TIC traces for concentrated (REF 250) influent and effluent samples were successfully used to correct the matrix effects and allowed the extent of micropollutant degradation in three WWTPs to be quantified. As a final step, the residual structure-specific matrix effect was predicted and corrected by quantitative structure-property relationships (QSPR), which led to a further correction of the matrix effect to 0 ± 7% for 65 compounds.

Improving urban drainage systems to mitigate PPCPs pollution in surface water: A watershed perspective

Parabens are preservatives widely used in pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs). This study investigated urban water pollution by parabens from a watershed perspective. Water and sediment samples were collected from one of the most polluted urban streams in China. Six parabens and five paraben metabolites were frequently detected in the samples, whereas the overall pollution level was intermediate according to a global comparison. The spatial distributions of the chemical concentrations along the river are influenced by multiple factors, and WWTPs appear to be a major factor. In general, the target pollutants were detected at higher concentrations in the dry season than in the wet season, but extraordinary concentration peaks in water were observed downstream of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), indicating a dominant contribution from combined sewage overflows (CSOs) during rainfall events. In a representative WWTP-influenced reach, CSOs account for its 97.3% of ∑parabens input and 96.9% of ∑metabolites input in a typical rainfall event. Converting the existing combined sewer systems to separate stormwater drainage systems could reduce the inputs of ∑parabens and ∑metabolites by 86.9-84.5%, respectively. This study highlights the role of urban drainage systems in preventing surface water pollution by PPCPs. CAPSULE: Urban drainage systems play a critical role in controlling pollution by parabens and their metabolites in urban surface water.

Determination of estrogens and estrogen mimics by solid-phase extraction with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

An analytical method has been developed and validated for the determination of six estrogens and estrogen mimics, namely estriol (E3), bisphenol A (BPA), 17β-estradiol (E2), estrone (E1), ethynyl estradiol (EE2) and dienestrol (DIE), with frequent occurrence in the natural environment. Solid phase extraction coupled with liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (SPE-LC-MS/MS) using electrospray ionization (ESI) in a negative mode was applied to concentration, identification, and quantification of estrogens and estrogen mimics. The SPE conditions were optimized as the selection of C18 as cartridges and MeOH as an eluent, and the control of solution pH at 9.0. The method was validated by satisfactory recoveries (80-130%) and intra-day and inter-day precision (<18.4%, as relative standard deviation), and excellent linearity for calibration curves (R² > 0.996). The limits of detection (LODs) for six target estrogenic compounds ranged between 2.5 and 19.2 ng/L. The effects of matrix background on the determination were evaluated in terms of LODs, LOQs, analyte recovery, and slopes of calibration curves in five different water matrices. Matrix effects by tap water were negligible. However, both matrix suppression and enhancement (i.e., E3, E1, DIE) were observed in surface water and wastewater. The positive correlation between LODs and TOC in various water matrices indicated the negative effect of organic pollutants on the method sensitivity. The sum of target estrogenic compounds in environmental samples were within 17-9462 ng/L.

Chemical risk in hospital settings: Overview on monitoring strategies and international regulatory aspects

Chemical risk in hospital settings is a growing concern that health professionals and supervisory authorities must deal with daily. Exposure to chemical risk is quite different depending on the hospital department involved and might origin from multiple sources, such as the use of sterilizing agents, disinfectants, detergents, solvents, heavy metals, dangerous drugs, and anesthetic gases. Improving prevention procedures and constantly monitoring the presence and level of potentially toxic substances, both in workers (biological monitoring) and in working environments (environmental monitoring), might significantly reduce the risk of exposure and contaminations. The purpose of this article is to present an overview on this subject, which includes the current international regulations, the chemical pollutants to which medical and paramedical personnel are mainly exposed, and the strategies developed to improve safety conditions for all healthcare workers.

An Ultraperformance Liquid Chromatography Tandem-Mass Spectrometry Method for Determination of Multiclass Pharmaceuticals in Water Sample by Dispersive Liquid-Liquid Microextraction Combined with Ultrasound Assisted Reverse Extraction from Solidified Floating Organic Droplets

A novel, simple, and reliable ultraperformance liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS ) assay based on dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction followed by ultrasound-assisted reverse extraction from solidified floating organic droplets was established for determination of multiclass pharmaceuticals in the water sample. Six commonly used drugs of various therapeutic classes: ibuprofen, ketorolac, lamotrigine, propranolol, pantoprazole, and losartan were extracted from water samples by using 50 μL 1-undecanol as extracting solvent and 400 μL acetonitrile as dispersive solvent. After collecting the floating organic droplets by cold centrifugation, an ultrasound-assisted back extraction procedure was performed to make the sample compatible for UPLC-MS/MS analysis. Acquity BEH C₁₈ column (2.1 × 100; 1.7 μm) was used for separation of target analytes that were eluted by a gradient mobile phase composition of 15 mM ammonium acetate and acetonitrile at a flow rate of 0.25 mL/min. The sample ionization was performed by using electrospray ionization in positive mode, and multiple reaction monitoring was used for quantification of target analytes. After optimizing the assay conditions, all calibration curves were found to be linear with limit of detection and limit of quantification were ranged in between 0.06-0.15 and 0.16-0.41 ng/mL, respectively. The enrichment factor was found to be 172-192-fold and the relative recovery was ranged between 93.1 and 109.4% between target analytes. These satisfactory results confirmed that the proposed method is specific and reliable for application of trace analysis of target analytes in waste water samples.

Sensitive Derivative Synchronous and Micellar Enhanced Ecofriendly Spectrofluorimetric Methods for the Determination of Atenolol, Diclofenac, and Triclosan in Drinking Tap Water

BACKGROUND

Nowadays, emergence of unexpected contaminants in drinking water is a challenging environmental problem facing humanity.

OBJECTIVE

Two eco-friendly spectrofluorimetric methods were proposed for the determination of three unexpected contaminants in drinking tap water.

METHODS

The first method is first derivative synchronous spectrofluorimetric method which was developed for simultaneous determination of atenolol (ATN) and diclofenac (DCF) without prior separation at Δλ = 70 nm and at Δλ = 80 nm for ATN and DCF, respectively. The second method was based on using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as fluorescent enhancer of triclosan (TCS) native fluorescence. TCS exhibits enhanced fluorescence at λ emission = 600 nm upon excitation at λ excitation = 299.4 nm. Solid phase extraction was carried out in both methods.

RESULTS

Linear calibration curves were obtained in concentration range of (4-3000 ng/mL) for ATN and (4-2000 ng/mL) for DCF, by measuring first derivative signal of fluorescence at 300 nm and 375.2 nm, respectively. TCS exhibits linear range (0.1-1 ng/mL) at 600 nm. Mean percentage recoveries were 101.04 ± 0.571, 99.66 ± 1.443, and 99.73 ± 0.566 for ATN, DCF, and TCS, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Validation of both methods were performed according to the International Conference on Harmonization guidelines. Results obtained were statistically compared with published methods and no significant differences were found. The proposed methods' greenness is evaluated using analytical Eco-scale and Green Analytical Procedure Index. A greenness comparison with previously published methods has been performed.

HIGHLIGHTS

Both methods were found to be eco-friendly and were successfully applied for the determination of the emerging contaminants in drinking tap water.

Detection of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) and its formation potential in hospital wastewater

Hospital wastewaters contain high concentrations of pharmaceutical residues and other chemicals, and may present an important source for NDMA (N-nitrosodimethylamine) and its precursors in the aquatic environment. The present study evaluates the contribution of hospital wastewater to NDMA environmental load and identifies important sources within the hospital itself. For this purpose, wastewaters from five large hospitals in Israel were analyzed, and concentrations of NDMA were found in the range of 20.7-56.7 ng/L, which are similar to NDMA concentrations typically detected in domestic wastewater. The relative contribution of day surgery, oncology, laboratories, and central kitchen (in Sheba hospital) to the daily load of NDMA was calculated as 20.2%, 8.2%, 10%, and 43.2%, respectively. In addition, NDMA concentration in Sheba's mixed wastewater stream, measured throughout a complete working day, was highest at 14:00. This suggests the possible impact of lunchtime on NDMA concentration, and emphasizes the dominant contribution of central kitchen waste. Finally, formation potential of NDMA in the mixed stream was 7300 ng/L, in the upper range of domestic wastewater, but could be decreased by 70% during subsequent aerobic biological wastewater treatment.