Indirect photochemical transformations of acyclovir and penciclovir in aquatic environments increase ecological risk

Acyclovir contamination in environment: Occurrence, transformation, toxicity, risk, and evaluation as a pharmaceutical indicator

Acyclovir (ACV), a widely used antiviral medication effective against herpes simplex viruses (HSV), is raising concern due to its pervasive presence in global water and the associated potential risks. ACV can undergo transformation under varying conditions, leading to the generation of diverse transformation products that may exhibit heightened toxicity. This review aims to present a comprehensive overview of the environmental impact of ACV. We compile data on ACV concentrations in different water sources worldwide to shed light on its global prevalence. The levels of ACV detected in both wastewater and natural water sources generally remain at low concentrations, typically in the range of ng L-1 level. ACV poses minimal threats to aquatic organisms and humans in comparison to its transformation products, and conventional wastewater treatment methods utilizing biological processes can reduce ACV concentrations, yet only achieve transformation rather than complete elimination of risks, as the intermediates often demonstrate elevated toxicity levels and increased persistence. Additionally, perspectives are proposed to inspire future research on risk assessment of ACV, its intermediates and other pharmaceuticals. Given the challenges in keeping pace with the proliferation of chemical varieties, prioritizing and optimizing risk assessment methodologies is imperative. To this end, the suitability of ACV indicators is evaluated by summarizing data across diverse water bodies.

Theoretical insights of the pharmaceutical compound fluoxetine in water: Role in direct photolysis and indirect photolysis by free radicals

The frequent detection of pharmaceutical compounds in the environment has led to a growing awareness, which may pose a major threat to the aquatic environment. In this study, photodegradation (direct and indirect photolysis) of two different dissociation states of fluoxetine (FLU) was investigated in water, mainly including the determination of photolytic transition states and products, and the mechanisms of indirect photodegradation with ·OH, CO3*- and NO3*. The main direct photolysis pathways are defluorination and C-C bond cleavage. In addition, the indirect photodegradation of FLU in water is mainly through the reactions with ·OH and NO3*, and the photodegradation reaction with CO3*- is relatively difficult to occur in the water environment. Our results provide a theoretical basis for understanding the phototransformation process of FLU in the water environment and assessing its potential risk.

Ozonation products of purine derivatives, the basic structures of antiviral micropollutants

Purine and its nucleobases adenine and guanine are the basic structures of a large group of antiviral agents such as acyclovir and penciclovir. Hence, their ozonation is of interest with regard to wastewater treatment due to the formation of products that could affect the aquatic environment. In this study, the transformation products of the mentioned substances are investigated under different defined reaction conditions in order to gain insight into the ozonation characteristics of this compound class. Results show that examining related molecules significantly improves product screening by compiling known products and analogues leading to comprehensive candidate lists, for the purines with a total number of >120 candidates (including possible duplicates for several purines) of which 49 were detected for the derivatives studied. One product, cyanuric acid, which was previously postulated for adenine, was tentatively confirmed and quantified for the first time for the reaction of purine and adenine with ozone. In addition, two prioritisation approaches are presented to identify the major products that are either formed under specific reaction conditions or are potentially relevant for structurally related pollutants. First, principal component analysis allowed the prioritisation of the products formed according to reaction conditions. In the analysis of guanine and the two antivirals, this approach showed that at neutral and basic pH the 2-imino-5-oxoimidazoline products dominated while at acidic pH either analogues of 5-amino-2,4-imidazolidinedione or 2,4-diamino-1,3-oxazol-5-(2H)-one were abundant. A second approach prioritising common products in the ozonation of all three basic structures revealed the formation of two products that had not been reported before: C4H8O3 and C3H2N2O3, presumably oxalylurea. Both molecules or their analogues may also be formed from related micropollutants. Overall, examining basic structures and exemplary micropollutants in combination was shown to be a worthwhile approach to gain knowledge on the ozonation of a whole range of compounds.

Degradation of Acyclovir by Zero-valent Iron Activated Persulfate Oxidation: Kinetics and Pathways Research

Acyclovir (ACV) is a commonly used antiviral drug; however, its poor bioavailability can lead to at least ng/L level residue in natural water. Sulfate radical, produced from persulfate (PS) by zero-valent iron (ZVI) activation, was demonstrated to effectively degrade ACV in this study. Influencing parameters, including ZVI dose, PS usage, initial ACV concentration, solution pH, and temperature, were evaluated to find the optimal degradation conditions. Intermediates were identified and main degradation pathways were proposed. Experiments showed that ACV degradation by ZVI/PS oxidation followed a pseudo zero-order reaction well (R² > 0.99). At pH ≦ 9, the optimal combination was 0.4 mM PS with 1.2 mM ZVI, in order to completely remove 10 μM ACV during 60-min reaction. Heat activation of PS would hinder the effect of ZVI if temperature was 45 °C or above. ACV could be oxidized to four major degradation products, including methoxyacetic acid (P1, C₃H₆O₃, m/z = 91), 1,1,2-trinitroethane (P2, C₂H₃N₃O₆, m/z = 165), trinitromethane (P3, CHN₃O₆, m/z = 151), and dinitromethane (P4, CH₂N₂O₄, m/z = 105). Though the mineralization rate was not high (about 24.0%), ZVI/PS oxidation was proved to be an available treatment method for ACV-induced water pollution.

Electrochemically-deposited PANI on iron mesh-based metal-organic framework with enhanced visible-light response towards elimination of thiamphenicol and E. coli

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are emerging class of porous materials that attracted tremendous attention as eco-friendly photocatalysts. However, poor charge separation in most MOFs largely thwarts their photocatalytic performance. In this work, Materials of Institut Lavoisier-100(Fe) (MIL-100 (Fe)) based on iron mesh was successfully fabricated by in situ growth. MIL-100(Fe) doped with polyaniline, namely MIL-100(Fe)/PANI, were then fabricated by galvanostatic deposition followed by annealing. Compared to pure MIL-100(Fe), MIL-100(Fe)/PANI composites exhibited excellent photocatalytic performances towards Thiamphenicol (TAP) degradation and Escherichia coli (E. Coli.) inactivation. The apparent rate constant, k, for TAP elimination of the MIL-100(Fe)/PANI composites with H₂O₂ is approximately 3 times as high as that of pure MIL-100(Fe). The electrochemical studies showed enhanced photocatalytic performances, which can be attributed to the electronic conductivity of PANI polymers. Quenching experiments, fluorescent tests and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) all suggested ⋅O₂^-, e^-, ⋅OH and h⁺ as reactive oxidizing species (ROSs) involved in the photocatalytic process, where ⋅OH played the predominant ROSs. The transformation products of TAP were also isolated and characterized by high-resolution mass spectrometry, and transformation pathways of TAP under Vis/MIL-100(Fe)/PANI/H₂O₂ were tentatively clarified based on involved intermediates. Herein, MOFs conjugated conductive polymers nanocomposites look promising as efficient photocatalysts for organic pollutants degradation and bacteria inactivation. This work could offer novel strategies for the development of heterojunction composites with enhanced photocatalytic performances for better environmental remediation.

Prediction of Photochemically Produced Reactive Intermediates in Surface Waters via Satellite Remote Sensing

Absorption of solar radiation by colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) in surface waters results in the formation of photochemically produced reactive intermediates (PPRIs) that react with pollutants in water. Knowing the steady-state concentrations of PPRIs ([PPRI]_ss) is critical to predicting the persistence of pollutants in sunlit surface waters. CDOM levels (a₄₄₀) can be measured remotely for lakes over large areas using satellite imagery. Laboratory measurements of [PPRI]_ss and apparent quantum yields (Φ) of three PPRIs (³DOM*, ¹O₂, and ^•OH) were made for 24 lake samples under simulated sunlight. The total rate of light absorption by the water samples (R_a), the rates of formation (R_f), and [PPRI]_ss of ³DOM* and ¹O₂ linearly increased with increasing a₄₄₀. The production rate of ^•OH was linearly correlated with a₄₄₀, but the steady-state concentration was best fit by a logarithmic function. The relationship between measured a₄₄₀ and Landsat 8 reflectance was used to map a₄₄₀ for more than 10 000 lakes across Minnesota. Relationships of a₄₄₀ with R_f, [PPRIs]_ss, and R_a were coupled with satellite-based a₄₄₀ assessments to map reactive species production rates and concentrations as well as contaminant transformation rates. This study demonstrates the potential for using satellite imagery for estimating contaminant loss via indirect photolysis in lakes.

Effects of dissolved organic matter derived from freshwater and seawater on photodegradation of three antiviral drugs

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is the most important light absorber that may induce indirect photolytic transformation of organic pollutants in natural waters. In this study, effects of DOM derived from freshwater and seawater on the photodegradation of three antiviral drugs acyclovir, lamivudine and zidovudine were investigated. Results show that the photodegradation of acyclovir is promoted mainly by excited triplet states DOM (³DOM*), and the photodegradation of lamivudine is accelerated by ³DOM*, •OH and ¹O₂ together; however, the photodegradation of zidovudine is inhibited by DOM mainly via light screening. Compared with DOM from freshwater, promotion effect of DOM extracted from seawater (SDOM) on the photodegradation of acyclovir and lamivudine is weaker, which is attributed to lower productivity of reactive intermediates. On the other hand, inhibitory effect of SDOM on the photodegradation of zidovudine is also weaker, which is due to weaker light screening caused by lower light absorption. Photodegradation half-lives of the three antiviral drugs are predicted to be all more than 20 days in freshwater and seawater bodies of the Yellow River estuarine region. These findings are significant for understanding the phototransformation processes of antiviral drugs and other organic pollutants in estuarine and coastal regions.

Quantifying photo-production of triplet excited states and singlet oxygen from effluent organic matter

The organic matter present in wastewater effluents (EfOM), is likely to have different properties than the organic matter present in the receiving water. The properties of EfOM will affect the fate of contaminants of emerging concern because EfOM is a source of photochemically produced reactive intermediates (PPRIs) capable of transforming contaminants. Effluent water samples were taken seasonally from sixteen wastewater treatment plants in Minnesota and two effluent dominated rivers in California and Arizona. Samples (n = 94) were tested for water chemistry, light absorption characteristics, and excited state triplet organic matter (³EfOM^∗) and singlet oxygen (¹O₂) production. Based on analysis of spectral parameters, EfOM had higher molecular weight and lower aromatic content than organic matter present in stormwaters from Minnesota, which are representative of human-impacted natural organic matter (NOM) containing waters. The second order rate constant for the reaction of the ³EfOM^∗ probe 2,4,6-trimethylephenol (k_T,TMP) for the effluents was 7.79 (±3.03) × 10⁸ M^-1s^-1, and this value was used to calculate apparent quantum yields for ³EfOM^∗ production, which ranged from 0.006 to 0.114. The quantum yield for the production of singlet oxygen ranged from 0.007 to 0.064. Processes in the wastewater treatment train, season, and water chemistry parameters did not serve as predictors of ³EfOM^∗ or ¹O₂ production. Among the parameters measured, Spearman rank correlations were strongest between quantum yields of ¹O₂ and ³EfOM^∗ and E2/E3 (absorption at 250 nm/absorption at 365 nm). This relationship, however, is weaker than that previously observed for NOM. The efficiency of ¹O₂ production from ³EfOM^∗ was 54%. Results indicate that 2,4,6-trimethylphenol samples nearly all of the triplets in EfOM that have sufficient energy to produce ¹O₂, which may not be the case for NOM.

Oxidation of propyl paraben by ferrate(VI): Kinetics, products, and toxicity assessment

Propyl paraben (propyl 4-hydroxybenzoate, PPB), one of the typically used paraben species in various pharmaceutical and personal care products, has been found in different aquatic environment, which could affect the water quality and human health. In this paper, the degradation of PPB by aqueous ferrate (Fe(VI)) was investigated in different water matrix and reaction kinetics as a function of pH was determined. Intermediate products of the degradation process were isolated and characterized by the high performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry techniques. Acute and chronic toxicities during water treatment of PPB using Fe(VI) were calculated using the ECOSAR program at three trophic levels. The obtained apparent second-order rate constant (k_app) for PPB reaction with Fe(VI) ranged from 99.6 ± 0.4 M^-1 s^-1 to 15.0 ± 0.1 M^-1 s^-1 with the half-life (t_1/2) ranging from 154 s to 1026 s at pH 6.5-10.0 for an Fe(VI) concentration of 600 μM. The proposed pathway for the oxidation of PPB by Fe(VI) involves one electron transfer of phenoxyl radical and breaking of the ether bond. In general, the oxidation of PPB by ferrate resulted in a significant decrease in toxicity at three trophic levels.

Modeling photodegradation kinetics of organic micropollutants in water bodies: A case of the Yellow River estuary

Predicting photodegradation rate constants (k) of pollutants in water bodies is important for assessing their persistence and fate. This prediction used to be based on the k values determined under laboratory conditions that seldom consider underwater downward sunlight attenuation in the field. We studied a procedure to predict k taking the Yellow River estuary and two model chemicals (sulfamethoxazole and acyclovir) as a case. Models were developed for predicting underwater sunlight intensities from optically-active substances. Based on the predicted underwater sunlight intensities, hourly variation of k for the model compounds was predicted as a function of water depth, for a fresh water, an estuarine water and a seawater body in the estuary. Results show that photodegradation half-lives (t_1/2) of the two compounds will be underestimated by dozens of times if underwater downward sunlight attenuation and intensity variation are not considered. Outdoor validation experiments show the maximum deviation between the predicted and measured k values is a factor of 2. The developed models can be employed to predict k of environmental chemicals in coastal water bodies once they are locally calibrated.