A multiresidue analytical method using solid-phase extraction and high-pressure liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry to measure pharmaceuticals of different therapeutic classes in urban wastewaters.
An analytical method with two extraction steps has been developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of 30 pharmaceuticals belonging to various therapeutic categories in urban wastewater. The aim was to boost the little available information on drugs' fates in sewage treatment plants (STPs) and in the receiving surface water. Aqueous samples were divided into two aliquots, each extracted by a different solid-phase extraction (SPE) method and analysed by reversed-phase liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS-MS). Recoveries of the pharmaceuticals were mostly greater than 70% and the overall variability of the method was below 8%. The instrumental quantification limit (IQL) varied between 30 and 400 pg injected, and the limits of quantification (LOQ) were in the low ng/L range. Nineteen pharmaceuticals were detected in concentrations between 0.5 and 2000 ng/L in effluents collected from several STPs in Italy. Atenolol, ciprofloxacin, furosemide, hydrochlorothiazide, ofloxacin, ranitidine and sulphamethoxazole were the most abundant compounds. The present analytical method was useful to check for pharmaceuticals in various Italian STPs and to identify the most abundant compounds.
Castiglioni
Sara
S
Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research, via Eritrea 62, 20157 Milan, Italy.
Bagnati
Renzo
R
Calamari
Davide
D
Fanelli
Roberto
R
Zuccato
Ettore
E
D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid / Q000379:methods*; D004350:Drug Residues / Q000032:analysis*; D013058:Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000032:analysis* / Q000145:classification; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014504:Urban Health; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000145:classification
D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical