title: Occurrence of cocaine and metabolites in hospital effluent - A risk evaluation and development of a HPLC method using DLLME.
abstract: A fast method for the determination of cocaine and its metabolites in hospital effluent samples was worked out by using liquid chromatography with the aid of fluorescence and diode array detection. Solid phase extraction and dispersive liquid -liquid microextraction were employed during the sample preparation stage. The experiment was conducted by using Chromabond®C18 ec 6 ml/500 mg cartridges, with recoveries higher than 96.6%, 88.3%, 78.7%, and LOQm0.15; 0.18 and 0.30 μg L-1for cocaine, benzoylecgonine and anhydroecgonine respectively. In the case of DLLME, different chemical conditions and solvent combinations were tested to find the best settings for the microextraction: pH 9; addition of 0.3 mol L-1NaCl; 150 μL extractor (chloroform) and 350 μL disperser (methanol). The recoveries for cocaine were as high as 98.3% with LOQm0.3 μg L-1. After validation, these methods were applied to quantification of the analytes. While the concentration of the anhydroecgonine, (the main pyrolytic metabolite of cocaine), remained below the limit of detection, the range of concentrations of cocaine and benzoylecgonine determined were 0.4-4.9 μg L-1and 0.9-8.6 μg L-1, respectively. The occurrence has a relatively median/high environmental impact. These concentration values suggest that a role is played by other sources of cocaine, probably related to transport, or handling and the consumption of the drug. The outcome is that cocaine can be quantified by using DLLME as well as SPE, however, DLLME offered clear benefits like simplicity, affordability, and speed, as well as only requiring a small volume of solvents and samples.
authors.affiliation: Chemistry Department, Federal University of Santa Maria, RS, Brazil. Electronic address: martins@quimica.ufsm.br.
authors.forename: Ayrton F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Martins
authors.affiliation: Chemistry Department, Federal University of Santa Maria, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Jeremias B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Dos Santos
authors.affiliation: Federal Police Department, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Bruno H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Todeschini
authors.affiliation: Chemistry Department, Federal University of Santa Maria, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Loisleini F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Saldanha
authors.affiliation: Chemistry Department, Federal University of Santa Maria, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Daiane S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: da Silva
authors.affiliation: Chemistry Department, Federal University of Santa Maria, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Jaqueline F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Reichert
authors.affiliation: Chemistry Department, Federal University of Santa Maria, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Darliana M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Souza
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil; D002138:Calibration; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid / Q000379:methods*; D003042:Cocaine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D006785:Hospitals, University; D013287:Illicit Drugs / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D057230:Limit of Detection; D059627:Liquid Phase Microextraction / Q000379:methods*; D000432:Methanol / Q000737:chemistry; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012306:Risk; D052616:Solid Phase Extraction / Q000379:methods; D012997:Solvents / Q000737:chemistry; D062065:Wastewater / Q000737:chemistry; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D003042:Cocaine; D013287:Illicit Drugs; D000432:Methanol; D012997:Solvents; D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Anhydroecgonine; Benzoylecgonine; Cocaine; DLLME; HPLC-FLD-DAD; Hospital effluent