title: Determination of selected pharmaceutical residues in wastewater using an automated open bed solid phase microextraction system.
abstract: The detection of trace levels of pharmaceuticals in environmental matrices requires an analyte pre-concentration procedure to obtain the required sensitivity for quantitative determination. This research aims to develop a simple automated analytical method based on C(18) thin film solid phase microextraction (TF-SPME) for the simultaneous extraction of pharmaceutical compounds detected in surface waters. As a sample preparation method, solid phase microextraction, is a rapid, environmentally friendly, and a sensitive analytical technique which isolates and pre-concentrates trace organic pollutants from environmental water samples in a single step. High throughput analysis was achieved with the use of a robotic auto sampler which enabled parallel analyte extraction in a 96-well plate format. Application of the method was demonstrated using wastewater from pilot-scale municipal treatment plants and environmental water samples from wastewater-dominated reaches of the Grand River (adjacent Waterloo, ON) which were analysed using a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) technique. The proposed method successfully determined concentrations of carbamazepine, fluoxetine, sertraline, and paroxetine in treated effluent at concentrations ranging from 240 to 3820 ng/L with a method detection limit of 2-13 ng/L with a relative standard deviation of less than 16%. Matrix effect was not observed with this method; therefore internal standards are not necessary for quantification of target compounds. The results suggest that this method is capable of detecting and quantifying many compounds present in both wastewater and wastewater-influenced surface water from multiple municipal sources. In this study, automated TF-SPME system is demonstrated as a simple and fast alternative method for high throughput analysis of pharmaceutical contaminants in environmental matrices.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada.
authors.forename: Oluranti P
authors.initials: OP
authors.lastname: Togunde
authors.forename: Erasmus
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cudjoe
authors.forename: Ken D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Oakes
authors.forename: Fatemah S
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Mirnaghi
authors.forename: Mark R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Servos
authors.forename: Janusz
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pawliszyn
mesh_terms: D056148:Chromatography, Reverse-Phase; D003903:Deuterium / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D016014:Linear Models; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000032:analysis* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000737:chemistry; D052617:Solid Phase Microextraction / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry; D062065:Wastewater / Q000737:chemistry*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D003903:Deuterium; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D012965:Sodium Chloride; D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical