Removal of the antiviral agent oseltamivir and its biological activity by oxidative processes.
The antiviral agent oseltamivir acid (OA, the active metabolite of Tamiflu(®)) may occur at high concentrations in wastewater during pandemic influenza events. To eliminate OA and its antiviral activity from wastewater, ozonation and advanced oxidation processes were investigated. For circumneutral pH, kinetic measurements yielded second-order rate constants of 1.7 ± 0.1 × 10(5) and 4.7 ± 0.2 × 10(9) M(-1) s(-1) for the reaction of OA with ozone and hydroxyl radical, respectively. During the degradation of OA by both oxidants, the antiviral activity of the treated aqueous solutions was measured by inhibition of neuraminidase activity of two different viral strains. A transient, moderate (two-fold) increase in antiviral activity was observed in solutions treated up to a level of 50% OA transformation, while for higher degrees of transformation the activity corresponded to that caused exclusively by OA. OA was efficiently removed by ozonation in a wastewater treatment plant effluent, suggesting that ozonation can be applied to remove OA from wastewater.
Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Überlandstrasse 133, P.O. Box 611, CH-8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland. hana.mestankova@eawag.ch
Hana
H
Mestankova
Kristin
K
Schirmer
Beate I
BI
Escher
Urs
U
von Gunten
Silvio
S
Canonica
D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*; D053139:Oseltamivir / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010126:Ozone / Q000737:chemistry; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*
D000998:Antiviral Agents; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D053139:Oseltamivir; D010126:Ozone