Toxicity of NSAID drug (paracetamol) to nontarget organism-Nostoc muscorum

A novel "ON-OFF-ON" colorimetric and fluorescence dual-signal sensing APAP based on TSPP-Fe3

Acetaminophen, also known as paracetamol (APAP), is a commonly used over-the-counter medication that is often used to treat headaches, toothaches, joint pain, muscle pain, and to lower body temperature. However, overdose can lead to liver damage, gastrointestinal distress, kidney damage, and cardiovascular disease. Therefore, it is very important to establish a method to quickly detect APAP. A novel "ON-OFF-ON" colorimetric and fluorescence dual-signal sensing system was constructed for the quantitative detection of APAP based on 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4-sulphonatophenyl) porphyrin (TSPP) dual-signal probe. The absorbance and fluorescence intensity of TSPP respectively were quenched when Fe3+ was introduced into TSPP solution. At this point, the color of the corresponding solution changed from red to green. The absorbance and fluorescence intensity of TSPP respectively were restored when APAP was added to the TSPP-Fe3+ system. At this time, the color of the solution changed from green to colorless. Therefore, an "ON-OFF-ON" dual-signal sensing study of APAP were constructed using TSPP as the colorimetric and fluorescent probe. The proposed colorimetric sensing system had a wide linear range in the 13.12 mM ∼ 23.20 mM with 0.11 mM of limit of detection (LOD, S/N = 3). And the proposed fluorescence sensing system had a wide linear range in the 3.45 mM ∼ 12.50 mM and 41.67 mM ∼ 65.22 mM with 0.83 mM of limit of detection (LOD, S/N = 3). The dual-signal sensing system were applied to the APAP detection of real samples.

Recent progress in adverse events of carboxylic acid non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (CBA-NSAIDs) and their association with the metabolism: the consequences on mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress, and prevention with natural plant extracts

INTRODUCTION

Carboxylic acid non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (CBA-NSAIDs) are extensively used worldwide due to their antipyretic, analgesic, and anti-inflammatory effects. CBA-NSAIDs have reasonable margin of safety at therapeutic doses, and in the current climate, do not possess addiction potential like opioid drugs. Studies have revealed that various adverse events of CBA-NSAIDs are related mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress.

AREAS COVERED

This review article summarizes adverse events induced by CBA-NSAIDs, mechanisms of mitochondrial damage, oxidative stress, and metabolic interactions. Meanwhile, this review discusses the treatment and prevention of CBA-NSAIDs damage by natural plant extracts based on antioxidant effects.

EXPERT OPINION

CBA-NSAIDs can induce reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, mediate DNA, protein and lipid damage, lead to imbalance of cell antioxidant status, change of mitochondrial membrane potential, activate oxidative stress signal pathway, thus leading to oxidative stress and cell damage. Adverse events caused by CBA-NSAIDs often exhibit dose and time dependence. In order to avoid adverse events caused by CBA-NSAIDs, it is necessary to provide detailed patient consultation and eliminate influencing factors. Moreover, constructive research studies on the organ-specific toxicity and mechanism of natural plant extracts in preventing and treating metabolic abnormalities of CBA-NSAIDs, will provide important value for warning and guidance for use of CBA-NSAIDs.

Modified polymer membranes for the removal of pharmaceutical active compounds in wastewater and its mechanism-A review

Membrane technology can play a suitable role in removing pharmaceutical active compounds since it requires low energy and simple operation. Even though membrane technology has progressed for wastewater applications nowadays, modifying membranes to achieve the strong desired membrane performance is still needed. Thus, this study overviews a comprehensive insight into the application of modified polymer membranes to remove pharmaceutical active compounds from wastewater. Biotoxicity of pharmaceutical active compounds is first prescribed to gain deep insight into how membranes can remove pharmaceutical active compounds from wastewater. Then, the behavior of the diffusion mechanism can be concisely determined using mass transfer factor model that represented by β and B with value up to 2.004 g h mg-1 and 1.833 mg g-1 for organic compounds including pharmaceutical active compounds. The model refers to the adsorption of solute to attach onto acceptor sites of the membrane surface, external mass transport of solute materials from the bulk liquid to the membrane surface, and internal mass transfer to diffuse a solute toward acceptor sites of the membrane surface with evidenced up to 0.999. Different pharmaceutical compounds have different solubility and relates to the membrane hydrophilicity properties and mechanisms. Ultimately, challenges and future recommendations have been presented to view the future need to enhance membrane performance regarding fouling mitigation and recovering compounds. Afterwards, the discussion of this study is projected to play a critical role in advance of better-quality membrane technologies for removing pharmaceutical active compounds from wastewater in an eco-friendly strategy and without damaging the ecosystem.

Ambiguous changes in photosynthetic parameters of Lemna minor L. after short-term exposure to naproxen and paracetamol: Can the risk be ignored?

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) are recently monitored in the aquatic environment. Naproxen (NPX), paracetamol (PCT) and their transformation products can influence the biochemical and physiological processes at the sub-cellular and cellular levels taking part in the growth and development of plants. This study aimed to compare the effects of NPX and PCT, drugs with different physico-chemical properties, on the growth and photosynthetic processes in Lemna minor during a short-term (7 days) exposure. Although duckweed took up more than five times higher amount of PCT as compared to NPX (275.88 µg/g dry weight to 43.22 µg/g when treated with 10 mg/L), only NPX limited the number of new plants by 9% and 26% under 1 and 10 mg/L, respectively, and increased their dry weight (by 18% under 10 mg/L) and leaf area per plant. A considerable (by 30%) drop in the content of photosynthetic pigments under 10 mg/L treatment by both drugs did not significantly affect the efficiency of the primary processes of photosynthesis. Values of induced chlorophyll fluorescence parameters (F₀, F_V/F_M, Φ_II, and NPQ) showed just a mild stimulation by PCT and a negative effect by NPX (by up to 10%), especially on the function of photosystem II and electron transport in both intact duckweed plants and isolated chloroplasts. Lowered efficiency of Hill reaction activity (by more than 10% under 0.1 - 10 mg/L treatments) in isolated chloroplasts suspension proved the only inhibition effect of PCT to primary photosynthetic processes. In intact plants, higher treatments (0.5 - 10 mg/L) by both NPX and PCT induced an increase in RuBisCO content. The results prove that the potential effect of various drugs on plants is hard to generalise.

A review of the main methods for composite adsorbents characterization

Adsorption is a promising technology for removing several contaminants from aqueous matrices. In the last years, researchers worldwide have been working on developing composite adsorbents to overcome some limitations and drawbacks of conventional adsorbent materials, which depend on various factors, including the characteristics of the adsorbents. Therefore, it is essential to characterize the composite adsorbents to describe their properties and structure and elucidate the mechanisms, behavior, and phenomenons during the adsorption process. In this sense, this work aimed to review the main methods used for composite adsorbent characterization, providing valuable information on the importance of these techniques in developing new adsorbents. In this paper, we reviewed the following methods: X-Ray diffraction (XRD); spectroscopy; scanning electron microscopy (SEM); N2 adsorption/desorption isotherms (BET and BJH methods); thermogravimetry (TGA); point of zero charge (pHPZC); elemental analysis; proximate analysis; swelling and water retention capacities; desorption and reuse.

Enhanced Visible Light-Driven Photoelectrocatalytic Degradation of Paracetamol at a Ternary z-Scheme Heterojunction of Bi2WO6 with Carbon Nanoparticles and TiO2 Nanotube Arrays Electrode

In this study, a ternary z-scheme heterojunction of Bi₂WO₆ with carbon nanoparticles and TiO₂ nanotube arrays was used to remove paracetamol from water by photoelectrocatalysis. The materials and z-scheme electrode were characterised using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), EDS mapping, ultraviolet diffuse reflection spectroscopy (UV-DRS), photocurrent measurement, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), uv-vis spectroscopy and total organic carbon measurement (TOC). The effect of parameters such as current density and pH were studied. At optimal conditions, the electrode was applied for photoelectrocatalytic degradation of paracetamol, which gave a degradation efficiency of 84% within 180 min. The total organic carbon removal percentage obtained when using this electrode was 72%. Scavenger studies revealed that the holes played a crucial role during the photoelectrocatalytic degradation of paracetamol. The electrode showed high stability and reusability therefore suggesting that the z-scheme Bi₂WO₆-CNP-TiO₂ nanotube arrays electrode is an efficient photoanode for the degradation of pharmaceuticals in wastewater.

Al/Cu-PILC as a Photo-Fenton Catalyst: Paracetamol Mineralization

Pillared clays have shown to effectively catalyze the photo-Fenton process without the necessity of acidic conditions, which is a very attractive feature from the perspective of environmentally friendly processes, especially when high natural abundance of chemical elements are incorporated. In this work, the catalytic activity of Al/Cu interlayered pillared clays for the degradation and mineralization of paracetamol through a photo-Fenton-like process was investigated. Al/Cu-pillared clays were prepared by adding ane Al/Cu pillaring solution to a bentonite suspension. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the enlargement of the interlayer space of the clay provoked by the pillaring process and Al and Cu species in the prepared samples were verified by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). The specific surface area of pure bentonite was 2-fold increased after the Al/Cu pillaring process. A synthetic paracetamol solution with an initial concentration of 100 ppm was prepared for the assessment of the activity of the prepared materials. Different catalyst concentrations were tested (0.2, 0.5, 0.75, and 1 g L^-1) and the complete removal of paracetamol was achieved in all cases, but the highest mineralization rate (69.8 mg total organic carbon (TOC) g_cat ^-1 h^-1) corresponds to the catalyst loading of 0.5 g L^-1. An ultraviolet-C (UVC) light source was employed, and no adjustment of the pH to acidic conditions was needed to achieve these results. Liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectroscopy (LC-MS) was employed to identify the reaction intermediates of paracetamol degradation. A proposed pathway for the oxidation of paracetamol molecule is presented. The effect of Cu content in the pillared clay and the stability and reusability of the catalyst were also assessed. The kinetic constants of paracetamol removal were 0.2318 and 0.0698 min^-1, under photo-Fenton and UV + H₂O₂ processes, respectively.

Effects of paracetamol on the polychaete Hediste diversicolor: occurrence of oxidative stress, cyclooxygenase inhibition and behavioural alterations

Pharmaceuticals are significant environmental stressors, since they are utilized around the world; they are usually released in to the aquatic system without adequate treatment and several non-target species can be harmed because of their intrinsic properties. Paracetamol is one of the most widely prescribed analgesics in human medical care. Consequently, this compound is systematically reported to occur in the wild, where it may exert toxic effects on non-target species, which are mostly uncharacterized so far. The objective of the present work was to assess the acute (control, 5, 25, 125, 625 and 3125 μg/L) and chronic (control, 5, 10, 20, 40 and 80 μg/L) effects of paracetamol on behavioural endpoints, as well as on selected oxidative stress biomarkers [superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GRed)] and the anti-inflammatory activity biomarker cyclooxygenase (COX), in the polychaete Hediste diversicolor (Annelida: Polychaeta). Exposure to paracetamol caused effects on behavioural traits, with increased burrowing time (96 h) and hypoactivity (28 days). In addition, exposure to paracetamol resulted also in significant increases of SOD activity, but only for intermediate levels of exposure, but for both acute and chronic exposures. Both forms of GPx had their activities significantly increased, especially after chronic exposure. Acutely exposed organisms had their GRed significantly decreased, while chronically exposed worms had their GRed activity augmented only for the lowest tested concentrations. Effects were also observed in terms of COX activity, showing that paracetamol absorption occurred and caused an inhibition of COX activity in both exposure regimes. It is possible to conclude that the exposure to concentrations of paracetamol close to the ones in the environment may be deleterious to marine ecosystems, endangering marine life by changing their overall redox balance, and the biochemical control of inflammatory intermediaries. Behaviour was also modified and the burrowing capacity was adversely affected. This set of effects clearly demonstrate that paracetamol exposure, under realistic conditions, it not exempt of adverse effects on marine invertebrates, such as polychaetes.

ZnO nanorods/Fe3O4-graphene oxide/metal-organic framework nanocomposite: recyclable and robust photocatalyst for degradation of pharmaceutical pollutants

Nanosized semiconductors are widely utilized as solar energy based photocatalyst. However, the deficiencies such as poor adsorption toward contaminants and recyclability issues, rapid recombination of photo-introduced radicals, and deactivation by scavengers are still be the obstacle. To addressing those obstacles, zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8), photosensitive ZnO, and paramagnetic Fe₃O₄ were anchored on conductive graphene oxide (GO) to prepare a nanocomposite photocatalyst ZnO/Fe₃O₄-GO/ZIF. The photocatalyst showed good robustness to scavengers of hydroxyl radicals (OH^•), superoxide radicals (O₂^•-), and hole (h⁺) with hydrophobic ZIF-8 modified surface. Finally, four pharmaceuticals (sulfamethazine, metronidazole, norfloxacin, and 4-acetaminophen) were degraded rapidly under simulated solar irradiation for 1 h, and the photocatalyst could be recycled at least ten times without obvious deactivation. The final results show that combination of semiconductor, graphene oxide and ZIF-8 is a good idea for construction of efficient photocatalyst. It offers new views in interface modification of nanomaterials, photocatalysis, and adsorption.

Theoretical study of the adsorption of analgesic environmental pollutants on pristine and nitrogen-doped graphene nanosheets

Interactions of the analgesic medications dextropropoxyphene (DPP, opioid), paracetamol (PCL, nonnarcotic), tramadol (TDL, nonnarcotic), ibuprofen (IBN, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)), and naproxen (NPX, NSAID) with pristine graphene (GN) and nitrogen-doped GN (NGN; containing only graphitic N atoms) nanosheets were explored using density functional theory (DFT) in the gas and aqueous phases. Calculations in the aqueous phase were performed using the integral equation formalism polarized continuum model (IEFPCM). Calculated geometry-optimized structures, partial atomic charges (determined using Natural Bond Orbital analysis), highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO)-lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy gaps, work functions (determined using time-dependent DFT), and molecular electrostatic potential plots showed that the adsorption process is physical in nature (viz. physisorption), primarily due to noncovalent π-π and van der Waals interactions. In addition, calculated adsorption energies (ΔEad) were exergonic, indicating that formation of the analgesic/GN and analgesic/NGN complexes is thermodynamically favorable in the gas (ΔEad values for analgesic/GN and analgesic/NGN were in the range of -66.56 kJ mol-1 to -106.78 kJ mol-1) and aqueous phases (ΔEad values for analgesic/GN and analgesic/NGN complexes were in the range of -58.75 kJ mol-1 to -100.46 kJ mol-1). Generally, for GN and NGN, adsorption was more endergonic in the aqueous phase by as much as +10.41 kJ mol-1. Calculated solvation energies (ΔEsolvation) were exergonic for all analgesic/GN complexes (ΔEsolvation values were in the range of -56.50 kJ mol-1 to -66.17 kJ mol-1) and analgesic/NGN complexes (ΔEsolvation values were in the range of -77.26 kJ mol-1 to -87.96 kJ mol-1), with analgesic/NGN complexes exhibiting greater stability in aqueous solutions (∼20 kJ mol-1 more stable). In summary, the results of this theoretical study demonstrate that the adsorption and solvation of analgesics on GN and NGN nanosheets is thermodynamically favorable. In addition, generally, analgesic/NGN complexes exhibit higher adsorption affinities and solvation energies in the gas and aqueous phases. Therefore, GN and NGN nanosheets are potential adsorbents for extracting analgesic contaminants from aqueous environments such as aquatic ecosystems.