Ultra-preconcentration and determination of selected pharmaceutical and personal care products in different water matrices by solid-phase extraction combined with dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction prior to ultra high pressure liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry analysis

Evaluating chemicals of emerging concern in the Ganga River at the two major cities Prayagraj and Varanasi through validated analytical approaches

Evaluating environmental water quality means to assess and protect the environment against unfriendly impacts from various organic impurities emerging from industrial emissions and those released during harvesting. Potential risks related with release of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), pesticides and pharmaceuticals (PhAcs), and personal care products (PCPs) into the environment have turned into an increasingly serious issue in ecological safety. Monitoring helps in control of chemicals and ecological status compliance to safeguard specific water uses, for example, drinking water abstraction. A longitudinal review was carried out for 55 different persistent organic pollutants (POPs) for the Ganga River which passes through the urban areas of Prayagraj and Varanasi, India, through validated analytical approaches and measurement uncertainty (MU) estimation to assess their potential use for routine analysis. Furthermore, environmental risk assessment (ERA) carried out in the present study has revealed risk quotient (RQ) higher than 1 in a portion of the aquatic bodies. Using a conservative RQ strategy, POPs were assessed for having extensive risks under acute and chronic exposure, proposing that there is currently critical ecological risk identified with these compounds present in the Ganga River. In general, these outcomes demonstrate a significant contribution for focusing on measures and feasible techniques to minimize the unfavorable effects of contaminants on the aquatic environment.

Metabolomics-based screening analysis of PPCPs in water pretreated with five different SPE columns

The selection of solid phase extraction (SPE) columns in the pretreatment process plays a decisive role in the screening and quantification of pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs). As growing PPCPs have frequently been detected in the aquatic environment, it is a burdensome task through one-by-one recovery comparison to judge which column presents relatively ideal pretreatment results for PPCPs. In view of this, we developed a novel metabolomics-based screening method based on ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometer (UHPLC-MS/MS) results to accurately, rapidly and comprehensively choose a suitable column from 5 different kinds to handle 64 PPCPs in two water environments (50 μg L^-1/pH ≅ 7.0/pure water and 1 μg L^-1/pH ≅ 7.0/reservoir water) through seeking 'biomarkers', for which multivariate and univariate analyses were adopted. Principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) play a crucial role in multivariate analysis, and the pairwise t-test and fold change judgement in univariate analysis. Each column group was fully separated from the other 4 groups in PCA and OPLS-DA plots, laying a foundation to distinguish 'biomarkers' between groups. The S-Plot, permutation and variable importance in projection (VIP) in OPLS-DA were employed to screen and identify 'biomarkers', which were further verified by a pairwise t-test and fold change judgement. Eventually, the 64 PPCPs as 'biomarkers' were divided into 5 groups, which correspond to 5 column groups, consistent with the findings of traditional PPCP recovery comparison, proving the validity of the metabolomics-based screening method. This novel method will exhibit greater superiority in choosing suitable SPE columns to handle a growing and larger number of PPCPs in water environments and beyond.

Removal of selected emerging micropollutants from wastewater treatment plant effluent by advanced non-oxidative treatment - A lab-scale case study from Serbia

The presence of 48 emerging micropollutants was tested in influent and effluent from primary and secondary treatment at a municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Serbia. Sixteen emerging micropollutants (active pharmaceutical ingredients, bisphenols, parabens and UV filters) had concentrations >LOQ (max. conc. 33.4 μg/L). The removal efficiency of primary treatment ranged from 2.0% - 96.0%. In the case of secondary treatment, except for ketoprofen (61.0%), diclofenac (62.6%) and carbamazepine (-20.0%), all other measured micropollutants had removal efficiency above 77.0%. Advanced non-oxidative lab-scale treatments were investigated. Powdered activated carbon (PAC) adsorption achieved removal efficiencies in the range 52.4-99.9%, novel coagulation with natural coagulant isolated from beans achieved removal efficiencies in range 3.2-99.9%, conventional coagulation with ferric chloride 3.12-96.4%, combined adsorption/coagulation 2.69-99.9% and combined PAC/ultrafiltration (PAC/UF) 60-99.9%. For most of the micropollutants, their removal efficiencies were similar to that reported in the literature. Novel natural coagulant showed significant potential compared to the conventional coagulant during a short episode of sub-optimal WWTP operation. When natural coagulant was applied as a part of an adsorption/coagulation hybrid process, there was no negative effect on PAC adsorption, while for conventional coagulant that was not always the case. Also, a structure property relationship (SPR) study revealed correlations between the removal efficiency of the majority of treatments applied and total polar surface area (TPSA) of the micropollutants.

A simple and efficient Solid-Phase Microextraction - Gas Chromatography - Mass Spectrometry method for the determination of fragrance materials at ultra-trace levels in water samples using multi-walled carbon nanotubes as innovative coating

The occurrence of emerging contaminants is becoming of increasing importance to assess the impact of anthropogenic activities onto the environment. The present study reports for the first time the development and validation of an efficient method for the simultaneous determination of fragrance materials in water samples based on the use of a novel multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)-based solid-phase microextraction coating. Helical MWCNTs were selected as adsorbent material due to their outstanding extraction performance. The multicriteria method of desirability functions allowed the optimization of the experimental conditions in terms of extraction time and extraction temperature. Validation proved the reliability of the method for the determination of the analytes at ultra-trace levels, obtaining detection limits in the 0.2-13 ng/L range, good precision, with relative standard deviations lower than 20% and recovery rates in the 80 ± 12%-111 ± 11%. Superior enrichment factors compared to commercial fibers were also calculated. Finally, applicability to real sample analysis was demonstrated.

Determination of 38 pharmaceuticals and personal care products in water by lyophilization combined with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

A convenient, effective, and low-cost method was developed for the determination of 38 pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), including 19 antibiotics in surface water samples by lyophilization combined with liquid chromatography-tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The components of the extraction solvent, the volume of the water sample, and the volume of extraction solvent were successively optimized. The analytes in 80 mL water samples were concentrated by lyophilization, eluted effectively by the solvent of 2 mL acetonitrile, 2 mL acetone, and 2 mL ultrapure water. The method detection limits ranged from 0.02 ng L-1 (caffeine) to 0.17 μg L-1 (glibenclamide). The recoveries of 30 analytes ranged from 40.0% (sulfaguanidine) to 124.4% (flumequine). The relative standard deviations of all analytes were below 21% except ciprofloxacin (29%). The performance of the optimized method was comparable to the solid phase extraction and ultrasonic extraction method with much less consumption of labor, organic solvent, and consumables. The developed method was successfully applied to surface river water, reservoir water, and effluent of the wastewater treatment plant.

Distribution, removal efficiencies and environmental risk assessment of benzophenone and salicylate UV filters in WWTPs and surface waters from Romania

This article presents the environmental pollution level with organic UV filters and the effect they pose on aquatic organisms in Romania.

Validation of sampling techniques and SPE-UPLC/MS/MS for home and personal care chemicals in the Songhua Catchment, Northeast China

A method for the simultaneous determination of 18 home and personal care chemicals (HPCCs) in river water and wastewater was developed using solid-phase extraction and ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (SPE and UPLC/MS/MS). A series of tests were designed to find the potential background interference and loss of HPCCs during the sample preservation and pretreatment process. Our results suggested that a considerable amount of some target compounds were lost with increasing days of storage even at 4 °C. Accordingly, the samples were stored acidified and refrigerated, including during transportation, to reduce the losses. Experiments on filtration of water samples suggested that recoveries of many HPCCs were significantly affected by the filtration. It is therefore recommended to avoid filtration of water samples where possible. The internal standard corrected recoveries for the HPCCs ranged from 64.2 to 107.0%, except for benzisothiazolone which did not have an appropriate internal standard, in river water which was considered to be the most difficult matrix. The method detection limits for river water, influent and effluent samples were in the ranges of 0.17 to 42 ng/L, 13 to 5100 ng/L, and 0.50 to 200 ng/L, respectively. The validated method was applied for the determination of HPCCs in sewage water collected from a full-scale wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in a typical urban city in Northeast China and from river water upstream and downstream of the WWTP. Linear alkylbenzene sulphonate, caffeine, methyl paraben, benzalkonium chloride, triclocarban, and triclosan were the major compounds detected in the river water and wastewater samples. Sampling variability for the WWTP (intra-day and inter-day) and cross-river was also determined with the purpose of designing future monitoring requirements. Small variations in these samples confirmed that composite samples and a single sampling event would be representative for future use.

An environmentally friendly strategy for determining organic ultraviolet filters in seawater using liquid-phase microextraction with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Benzophenone-3, benzophenone-8, and 4-methylbenzylidene camphor are used in sunscreens because they can protect the skin from UV radiation. The widespread use of organic UV filters may mean that they directly or indirectly enter seawater during recreational activities or through sewage discharge. In this study, a simple and efficient method using 1-octanol:isooctane (2:8, v/v) as an extraction solvent and liquid chromatography-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry was developed to measure trace levels of organic UV filters in seawater samples. This proposed method proved to be a highly sensitive, low-cost, and green analytical tool that requires minimal sample preparation. The method was validated and it exhibited favorable performance as well as acceptable accuracy (67 to 115%), precision (2.1 to 7.3%), coefficients of determination (0.9952 < R² < 0.9987), sensitivity (limits of quantification [3.3 to 5.7 ng L^-1]), and an acceptable matrix effect (87 to 99%). This methodology was successfully applied to analyze seawater taken from Kenting National Park located in the Hengchun Peninsula of southern Taiwan. Benzophenone-3 was detected at all sampling sites and at a higher concentration than the other organic UV filters. The highest concentration of benzophenone-3 was 514.6 ng L^-1 in a sample collected from Baisha Beach.

Ultrasound-assisted dispersive solid phase nanoextraction of selected personal care products in wastewater followed by their determination using high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector

This study reports a rapid and simple method based on ultrasound-assisted dispersive solid phase nanoextraction (UA-SPNE) method for the extraction and preconcentration of selected personal care products using MPC@Al₂O₃-SiO₂ nano adsorbent. A high performance liquid chromatograph equipped with a diode array detector (HPLC-DAD) was used to detect the analytes of interest. Experimental parameters affecting the extraction and preconcentration efficiency of the UA-SPNE (such as mass of adsorbent, extraction time, sample pH and eluent volume,) were optimized using fractional factorial design and response surface methodology based on central composite design. Under optimized conditions, the linear range for benzophenone, N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide and trichlorocarbanilide were in the interval of LOQ-1000 μg L^-1 with correlation coefficients ranged from 0.9907 to 0.9977. The limits of detection and limits of quantification were 0.066-0.096 μg L^-1 and 0.22-0.32 μg L^-1, respectively. The accuracy of the UA-SPNE/HPLC-DAD method was evaluated using spike recovery test and the recoveries were in the range of 98-107%. The repeatability and reproducibility of the method 0.8-1.0 % and 2.4-4.4%, respectively.

Distribution of fragrances and PAHs in the surface seawater of the Sicily Channel, Central Mediterranean

The Mediterranean Sea is highly influenced by several anthropic pressures, including different kinds of organic pollutants. Fragrance Materials (FMs) and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) were investigated in the surface seawater of the Sicily Channel in offshore and coastal areas. Total concentrations of FMs and PAHs resulted respectively up to 112ngL^-1 and 43ngL^-1, with similar distributions of both classes of analytes. Low values were detected in some coastal samples, due to the upwelling of deep and unpolluted waters, while the presence of gyres probably accumulates contaminants in offshore areas. Confirming previous works, the allergenic and oestrogenic Salicylates generally resulted the most abundant FMs and diagnostic ratios indicated combustion processes as the sources of PAHs. The coupling of the well-known PAHs with a new class of Personal Care Products (PCPs) helped the identification of the major environmental drivers: the results highlighted the role of mesoscale hydrodynamics and suggested long-range atmospheric transport as key factors. The first detection of the selected FMs in open sea areas supports the hypothesis of their environmental persistence.

Simultaneous enantiomeric analysis of eight pesticides in soils and river sediments by chiral liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

A rapid and sensitive multi-residue method was developed for the simultaneous quantification of eight chiral pesticides (including diniconazole, metalaxyl, paclobutrazol, epoxiconazole, myclobutanil, hexaconazole, napropamide and isocarbophos) at enantiomeric levels in environmental soils and sediments using chiral liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry based on a combined pretreatment of matrix solid-phase dispersion and dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (MSPD-DLLME). Under optimized conditions, 0.1 g of solid sample was dispersed with 0.4 g of C18-bonded silica sorbent, and 3 mL of methanol was used for eluting the analytes. The collected eluant was dried and then further purified by DLLME with 550 μL of dichloromethane and 960 μL of acetonitrile as extraction and disperser solvent, respectively. The established method was validated and found to be linear, precise, and accurate over the concentration range of 2-500 ng g^-1 for epoxiconazole, paclobutrazol and metalaxyl and 4-500 ng g^-1 for isocarbophos, hexaconazole, myclobutanil, diniconazole and napropamide. Recoveries of sixteen enantiomers varied from 87.0 to 104.1% and the relative standard deviations (RSD) were less than 10.1%. Method detection and quantification limits (MDLs and MQLs) varied from 0.22 to 1.54 ng g^-1 and from 0.91 to 4.00 ng g^-1, respectively. Finally, the method was successfully applied to analyze the enantiomeric composition of the eight chiral pesticides in environmental solid matrices, which will help better understand the behavior of individual enantiomer and make accurate risk assessment on the ecosystem.

Antibiotics in the aquatic environments: A review of lakes, China

The potential threat of antibiotics to the environment and human health has raised significant concerns in recent years. The consumption and production of antibiotics in China are the highest in the world due to its rapid economic development and huge population, possibly resulting in the high detection frequencies and concentrations of antibiotics in aquatic environments of China. As a water resource, lakes in China play an important role in sustainable economic and social development. Understanding the current state of antibiotics in lakes in China is important. Closed and semi-closed lakes provide an ideal medium for the accumulation of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). This review summarizes the current levels of antibiotic exposure in relevant environmental compartments in lakes. The ecological and health risks of antibiotics are also evaluated. This review concludes that 39 antibiotics have been detected in the aquatic environments of lakes in China. The levels of antibiotic contamination in lakes in China is relatively high on the global scale. Antibiotic contamination is higher in sediment than water and aquatic organisms. Quinolone antibiotics (QNs) pose the greatest risks. The contents of antibiotics in aquatic organisms are far lower than their maximum residual limits (MRLs), with the exception of the organisms in Honghu Lake. The lakes experience high levels of ARG contamination. A greater assessment of ARG presence and antibiotic exposure are urgent.

Multiresidue determination and predicted risk assessment of contaminants of emerging concern in marine sediments from the vicinities of submarine sewage outfalls

Submarine sewage outfalls (SSOs) are considered the main input source of contaminants of emerging concern continuously released in coastal areas, with the potential to cause adverse effects for aquatic organisms. This work presents the investigation of nine endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and 26 pharmaceutically active chemicals (PhACs) in marine sediments within the vicinities of 7 SSOs along the São Paulo State Coast (Brazil). Method optimization for the multi-residue determination by GC-MS/MS and LC-MS/MS using QuEChERS extraction/clean-up are discussed. Results demonstrate the occurrence of EDCs in concentrations ranging from less than method quantification limits (MQL) to 72.5 ng g^-1 in sediments. All PhACs were <MQLs. Nonylphenol was the most ubiquitous compound and the diversity of EDCs increased with an increase in populations serviced by SSOs. The predicted environmental risk assessment considering measured environmental concentrations and ecotoxicity endpoints from literature suggest a high-risk potential in some of the investigated SSOs.

Polypyrrole-modified magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotube-based magnetic solid-phase extraction combined with dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction followed by UHPLC-MS/MS for the analysis of sulfonamides in environmental water samples

Polypyrrole modified magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotubes were prepared and applied as an efficient adsorbent for magnetic solid-phase extraction.

Occurrence of personal care products as emerging chemicals of concern in water resources: A review

Personal care products (PCPs) are a diverse group of common household substances used for health, beauty and cleaning purposes. These include disinfectants, fragrances, insect repellents, preservatives and UV filters, among others. Some of them are considered chemicals of emerging concern due to their presence and negative impact on aquatic ecosystems, specially related to endocrine disruption and reproductive disorders. The entry of those chemicals to water bodies occurs mainly through the sewage effluents from wastewater treatment plants due to their incomplete or inefficient removal. The purpose of this review was to collect and analyze data about the incidence and concentrations of PCPs reported as emerging pollutants in different water matrices, including wastewater influents and effluents. Our database is composed of 141 articles with information about 72 PCPs recorded as emerging pollutants in 30 countries, in concentrations ranging from 0.029ng/L to 7.811×10⁶ng/L. Fragrances, antiseptics and sunscreens were the most reported groups. As expected, the largest number of PCPs documented as emerging pollutants were found in wastewater treatment plant effluents with a total of 64 compounds, compared to 43 in surface water and 23 in groundwater, which evidence the anthropological contribution of PCPs to water bodies. These molecules were found in all the continents, however, there is a lack of information regarding the presence of emerging pollutants from PCPs in developing countries. Therefore, we suggest further efforts in assessing the occurrence and concentrations of these chemicals in those areas.

Contamination sources and distribution patterns of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in Alpine rivers strongly affected by tourism

Knowledge regarding the impact of tourism on the emergence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in Alpine river waters is limited and scarce. Therefore, a study on the occurrence patterns and spatiotemporal variability of 105 PPCPs in an Alpine river basin located in the Trentino-Alto Adige region (North-Eastern Italy) has been conducted. We observed that the total concentration of analyzed PPCPs was generally higher in all sampling sites during winter than in the summer. The analysis of tourist data revealed that during both sampling campaigns the number of tourists was lower in the downstream sites in comparison with the upstream area of the basin (Val di Sole). Particularly, sampling sites located near important tourist resorts have shown the highest abundance of the PPCPs during winter, being analgesics/anti-inflammatories, antihypertensives and antibiotics the most abundant pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs). Diclofenac showed the highest concentration amongst PhACs, reaching concentrations up to 675ngL^-1 in the sampling site situated downstream of the Tonale wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). Antihypertensives were found at concentrations >300ngL^-1, while antibiotics were quantified up to 196ngL^-1, respectively. Amongst personal care products (PCPs), the most abundant compound was octyl-dimethyl-p-aminobenzoic acid (ODPABA) with concentrations reaching up to 748ngL^-1 in the sampling site situated within the Rotaliana district. In general, concentrations and detection frequencies were higher in water than in the sediment samples. The most frequently detected PhACs in sediments from both sampling campaigns were antibiotics, while amongst PCPs in sediments, octocrylene (OC) showed the highest concentration in both sampling campaigns. As a result, this study highlights the potential impact of tourism on the water quality of the Alpine aquatic ecosystems.

Critical assessment of the ubiquitous occurrence and fate of the insect repellent N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide in water

The insect repellent diethyltoluamide (DEET) is among the most frequently detected organic chemical contaminants in water across a wide range of geographies from around the world. These observations are raising critical questions and increasing concerns regarding potential environmental relevance, particularly when the emergence of severe neurological conditions attributed to the Zika virus has increased the use of insect repellents. After dermal application, DEET is washed from the skin when bathing and enters the municipal sewer system before discharge into the environment. Mainly measured by gas chromatography or liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS or LC-MS), more than 200 peer-reviewed publications have already reported concentrations of DEET ranging ng/L to mg/L in several water matrices from North America, Europe, Asia, Oceania, and more recently Africa and South America. While conventional wastewater treatment technology has limited capacity of removal, advanced technologies are capable of better attenuation and could lower the environmental discharge of organic contaminants, including DEET. For instance, adsorption on activated carbon, desalinating membrane processes (nanofiltration and reverse osmosis), ozonation, and advanced oxidation processes can achieve 50% to essentially 100% DEET attenuation. Despite the abundant literature on the topic, the ubiquity of DEET in the environment still raises questions due to the apparent lack of obvious spatio-temporal trends in concentrations measured in surface water, which does not fit the expected usage pattern of insect repellents. Moreover, two recent studies showed discrepancies between the concentrations obtained by GC-MS and LC-MS analyses. While the occurrence of DEET in the environment is well established, the concentrations reported should be interpreted cautiously, considering the disparities in methodologies applied and occurrence patterns observed. Therefore, this manuscript provides a critical overview of the origin of DEET in the environment, the relevant analytical methods, the occurrence reported in peer-reviewed literature, and the attenuation efficacy of water treatment processes.

Trace determination of antibacterial pharmaceuticals in fishes by microwave-assisted extraction and solid-phase purification combined with dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction followed by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

A novel pretreatment method involving microwave-assisted extraction and solid-phase purification combined with dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (MAE-SPP-DLLME) followed by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) was established for the simultaneous determination of six antibacterial pharmaceuticals including metronidazole, tinidazole, chloramphenicol, thiamphenicol, malachite green and crystal violet. The conditions of MAE were optimized using an orthogonal design and the optimal conditions were found to be 8mL for acetonitrile, 50°C for 5min. Then, neutral alumina column was employed in the solid-phase purification. Finally, the critical parameters affecting DLLME, including selection of extraction and dispersive solvent, adjustment of pH, salt concentration, extraction time, were investigated by single factor study. Under optimum conditions, good linearities (r>0.9991) and satisfied recoveries (Recoveries>87.0%, relative standard deviation (RSD)<6.3%) were observed for all of the target analytes. The limits of detection and quantification were 4.54-101.3pgkg(-1) and 18.02-349.1pgkg(-1), respectively. Intra-day and inter-day RSDs were all lower than 3.6%. An obvious reduction in matrix effect was observed by this method compared with microwave assisted extraction followed by purification. The established method was sensitive, rapid, accurate and employable to simultaneously determine target analytes in farmed fish, river fish and marine fish.