title: Biotransformation and adsorption of pharmaceutical and personal care products by activated sludge after correcting matrix effects.
abstract: This study reported significant suppressive matrix effects in analyses of six pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) in activated sludge, sterilized activated sludge and untreated sewage by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Quantitative matrix evaluation on selected PPCPs supplemented the limited quantification data of matrix effects on mass spectrometric determination of PPCPs in complex environment samples. The observed matrix effects were chemical-specific and matrix-dependent, with the most pronounced average effect (-55%) was found on sulfadiazine in sterilized activated sludge. After correcting the matrix effects by post-spiking known amount of PPCPs, the removal mechanisms and biotransformation kinetics of selected PPCPs in activated sludge system were revealed by batch experiment. Experimental data elucidated that the removal of target PPCPs in the activated sludge process was mainly by biotransformation while contributions of adsorption, hydrolysis and volatilization could be neglected. High biotransformation efficiency (52%) was observed on diclofenac while other three compounds (sulfadiazine, sulfamethoxazole and roxithromycin) were partially biotransformed by ~40%. The other two compounds, trimethoprim and carbamazepine, showed recalcitrant to biotransformation of the activated sludge.
authors.affiliation: Environmental Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: Environmental Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong; Key Laboratory of Microorganism Application and Risk Control of Shenzhen, Graduate School at Shenzhen, Tsinghua University, China.
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Environmental Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Ke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Environmental Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Tong
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D001711:Biotransformation; D003358:Cosmetics / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D012722:Sewage; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D003358:Cosmetics; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D012722:Sewage; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Activated sludge treatment; Biotransformation; Matrix effects; PPCPs; UPLC–MS/MS