title: Screening test battery for pharmaceuticals in urine and wastewater.
abstract: A test battery for identifying ecotoxicological hazards was applied to six pharmaceuticals (carbamazepine, diclofenac, ethinylestradiol, ibuprofen, propranolol, and sulfamethoxazole), to their mixtures, and to urine spiked with pharmaceuticals to test the suitability of biotests for screening urine and wastewater and for monitoring the efficiency of wastewater treatment. The test battery comprised the bioluminescence inhibition test with Vibrio fischeri, the yeast estrogen screen, and a photosynthesis inhibition assay in algae based on chlorophyll fluorescence measurements. Mixture and additional experiments with a cocktail of pharmaceuticals added to urine confirmed the applicability of the test systems as an integrated measure of the overall micropollutant burden. Because the concentration of pharmaceuticals in wastewater is low and the nutrients and salts may have a negative impact on the bioassays, urine and wastewater samples were cleaned and concentrated by solid-phase extraction (SPE). The compounds of interest ranged from polar to nonpolar and from positively charged to neutral and negatively charged. Consequently, the SPE method was optimized for universality rather than for specificity. Results of preliminary experiments with raw and treated urine and wastewater indicate the suitability of the proposed test battery for screening urine and wastewater.
authors.affiliation: Swiss Federal Institute for Environmental Science and Technology (EAWAG), CH-8600 Duebendorf, Switzerland. escher@eawag.ch
authors.forename: Beate I
authors.initials: BI
authors.lastname: Escher
authors.forename: Nadine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bramaz
authors.forename: Max
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maurer
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Richter
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sutter
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: von Känel
authors.forename: Mischa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zschokke
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D048908:Aliivibrio fischeri / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000378:metabolism; D000460:Chlorophyta / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D020128:Inhibitory Concentration 50; D008163:Luminescent Measurements; D008297:Male; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000032:analysis* / Q000652:urine*; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D012722:Sewage; D018675:Toxicity Tests; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000652:urine*; D018508:Water Purification / Q000592:standards; D014881:Water Supply / Q000032:analysis* / Q000592:standards; D015003:Yeasts / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen; D012722:Sewage; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D002734:Chlorophyll