title: Investigating the presence of omeprazole in waters by liquid chromatography coupled to low and high resolution mass spectrometry: degradation experiments.
abstract: Omeprazole is one of the most consumed pharmaceuticals around the world. However, this compound is scarcely detected in urban wastewater and surface water. The absence of this pharmaceutical in the aquatic ecosystem might be due to its degradation in wastewater treatment plants, as well as in receiving water. In this work, different laboratory-controlled degradation experiments have been carried out on surface water in order to elucidate generated omeprazole transformation products (TPs). Surface water spiked with omeprazole was subjected to hydrolysis, photo-degradation under both sunlight and ultraviolet radiation and chlorination. Analyses by liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF MS) permitted identification of up to 17 omeprazole TPs. In a subsequent step, the TPs identified were sought in surface water and urban wastewater by LC-QTOF MS and by LC coupled to tandem mass spectrometry with triple quadrupole. The parent omeprazole was not detected in any of the samples, but four TPs were found in several water samples. The most frequently detected compound was OTP 5 (omeprazole sulfide), which might be a reasonable candidate to be included in monitoring programs rather than the parent omeprazole.
authors.affiliation: Research Institute for Pesticides and Water, Universitat Jaume I, Avda. Sos Baynat, E-12071, Castellon, Spain.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Boix
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ibáñez
authors.forename: J V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Sancho
authors.forename: W M A
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Niessen
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hernández
mesh_terms: D000897:Anti-Ulcer Agents / Q000032:analysis*; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid / Q000379:methods; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D006868:Hydrolysis; D008027:Light; D009853:Omeprazole / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000032:analysis*; D010782:Photolysis; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays; D014867:Water / Q000032:analysis; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D000897:Anti-Ulcer Agents; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D014867:Water; C040449:omeprazole sulfide; D009853:Omeprazole
keywords: omeprazole; surface water; time-of-flight mass spectrometry; transformation/degradation products; triple quadrupole mass spectrometry; ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography; urban wastewater