Antiviral drugs against influenza: Treatment methods, environmental risk assessment and analytical determination

Hazards of antiviral contamination in water: Dissemination, fate, risk and their impact on fish

Antiviral drugs are a cornerstone in the first line of antiviral therapy and their demand rises consistently with increments in viral infections and successive outbreaks. The drugs enter the waters due to improper disposal methods or via human excreta following their consumption; consequently, many of them are now classified as emerging pollutants. Hereby, we review the global dissemination of these medications throughout different water bodies and thoroughly investigate the associated risk they pose to the aquatic fauna, particularly our vertebrate relative fish, which has great economic and dietary importance and subsequently serves as a major doorway to the human exposome. Our risk assessment identifies eleven such drugs that presently pose high to moderate levels of risk to the fish. The antiviral drugs are likely to induce oxidative stress, alter the behaviour, affect different physiological processes and provoke various toxicological mechanisms. Many of the compounds exhibit elevated bioaccumulation potential, while, some have an increased tendency to leach through soil and contaminate the groundwater. Eight antiviral medications show a highly recalcitrant nature and would impact the aquatic life consistently in the long run and continue to influence the human exposome. Thereby, we call for urgent ecopharmacovigilance measures and modification of current water treatment methods.

In Silico Assessment of Chemical Disinfectants on Surface Proteins Unveiled Dissimilarity in Antiviral Efficacy and Suitability towards Pathogenic Viruses

Viral pathogens pose a substantial threat to public health and necessitate the development of effective remediation and antiviral strategies. This short communication aimed to investigate the antiviral efficacy of disinfectants on the surface proteins of human pathogenic viruses. Using in silico modeling, the ligand-binding energies (LBEs) of selected disinfectants were predicted and combined with their environmental impacts and costs through an eco-pharmaco-economic analysis (EPEA). The results revealed that the binding affinities of chemical disinfectants to viral proteins varied significantly (p < 0.005). Rutin demonstrated promising broad-spectrum antiviral efficacy with an LBE of -8.49 ± 0.92 kcal/mol across all tested proteins. Additionally, rutin showed a superior eco-pharmaco-economic profile compared to the other chemicals, effectively balancing high antiviral effectiveness, moderate environmental impact, and affordability. These findings highlight rutin as a key phytochemical for use in remediating viral contaminants.

In-silico molecular modelling studies of some camphor imine based compounds as anti-influenza A (H1N1) pdm09 virus agents

The advent of influenza A (H1N1) drug-resistant strains led to the search quest for more potent inhibitors of the influenza A virus, especially in this devastating COVID-19 pandemic era. Hence, the present research utilized some molecular modelling strategies to unveil new camphor imine-based compounds as anti-influenza A (H1N1) pdm09 agents. The 2D-QSAR results revealed GFA-MLR (R2train = 0.9158, Q2=0.8475) and GFA-ANN (R2train = 0.9264, Q2=0.9238) models for the anti-influenza A (H1N1) pdm09 activity prediction which have passed the QSAR model acceptability thresholds. The results from the 3D-QSAR studies also revealed CoMFA (R2train =0.977, Q2=0.509) and CoMSIA_S (R2train =0.976, Q2=0.527) models for activity predictions. Based on the notable information derived from the 2D-QSAR, 3D-QSAR, and docking analysis, ten (10) new camphor imine-based compounds (22a-22j) were designed using the most active compound 22 as the template. Furthermore, the high predicted activity and binding scores of compound 22j were further justified by the high reactive sites shown in the electrostatic potential maps and other quantum chemical calculations. The MD simulation of 22j in the active site of the influenza hemagglutinin (HA) receptor confirmed the dynamic stability of the complex. Moreover, the appraisals of drug-likeness and ADMET properties of the proposed compounds showed zero violation of Lipinski's criteria with good pharmacokinetic profiles. Hence, the outcomes in this work recommend further in-depth in vivo and in-vitro investigations to validate these theoretical findings.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

A systematic review on the current situation of emerging pollutants in Mexico: A perspective on policies, regulation, detection, and elimination in water and wastewater

Emerging pollutants (EPs) emerged as a group of new compounds whose presence in the environment has been widely detected in Mexico. In this country, different concentrations of pharmaceutical compounds, pesticides, dyes, and microplastics have been reported, which vary depending on the region and the analyzed matrix (i.e., wastewater, surface water, groundwater). The evidence of the EPs' presence focuses on the detection of them, but there is a gap in information regarding is biomonitoring and their effects in health in Mexico. The presence of these pollutants in the country associated with lack of proper regulations in the discharge and disposal of EPs. Therefore, this review aims to provide a comprehensive view of the current environmental status, policies, and frameworks regarding Mexico's situation. The review also highlights the lack of information about biomonitoring since EPs are present in water even after their treatment, leading to a critical situation, which is high exposure to humans and animals. Although, technologies to efficiently eliminate EPs are available, their application has been reported only at a laboratory scale thus far. Here, an overview of health and environmental impacts and a summary of the research works reported in Mexico from 2014 to 2023 were presented. This review concludes with a concrete point of view and perspective on the status of the EPs' research in Mexico as an alert for government entities about the necessity of measures to control the EPs disposal and treatment.

Antiviral drugs in wastewater are on the rise as emerging contaminants: A comprehensive review of spatiotemporal characteristics, removal technologies and environmental risks

Antiviral drugs (ATVs) are widely used to treat illnesses caused by viruses. Particularly, ATVs were consumed in such large quantities during the pandemic that high concentrations were detected in wastewater and aquatic environment. Since ATVs are not fully absorbed by the human or animal body, this results in large amounts of them being discharged into the sewage through urine or feces. Most ATVs can be degraded by microbes at wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), while some ATVs either require deep treatment to reduce concentration and toxicity. Parent and metabolites residing in effluent posed a varying degree of risk when entering the aquatic environment, while increasing the potential of natural reservoirs for environmentally acquired antiviral drug resistance potential. There is a rising research on the behavior of ATVs in the environment has surged since the pandemic. In the context of multiple viral diseases worldwide, especially during the current COVID-19 pandemic, a comprehensive assessment of the occurrence, removal, and risk of ATVs is urgently needed. This review aims to discuss the fate of ATVs in WWTPs from various regions in the world with wastewater as the main analyzing object. The ultimate goal is to focus on ATVs with high ecological impact and regulate their use or develop advanced treatment technologies to mitigate the risk to the environment.

Environmentally Benign Nanoparticles for the Photocatalytic Degradation of Pharmaceutical Drugs

A rapid rise in industrialization has led to the release of pharmaceutical pollutants into water bodies, rendering water inappropriate for consumption by humans and animals, challenging our efforts to achieve the clean water sustainable development goal. These pharmaceutical pollutants include antibiotics, anticancer drugs, antidepressants, etc., which are highly stable and persistent in water, in addition to being harmful to life. At times, the secondary pollutant that is formed after degradation is more potent than the parent drug. Conventional water purification methods cannot completely remove these pollutants. Hence, efficient and robust methods are required to degrade pharmaceutical waste. Photocatalytic degradation of drugs is deemed an efficient and effective method for environmental remediation, along with recovery of photocatalysts, which are important for recycling and sustainable use. Herein, we present the synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) and their application for photocatalytic degradation of pharmaceutical waste as a preferred water treatment method. Additionally, green synthesis of photocatalytic nanomaterials offers the benefit of avoiding secondary pollution. The green synthesis of NPs is employed by using plant extracts that offer a number of metabolites as reducing agents or capping agents, as well as the use of microbes as green nanofactories to tackle the issue of water cleanliness with respect to pharmaceutical waste. Despite regulations concerning drug disposal, some underdeveloped countries do not enforce and practice these guidelines in letter and spirit. Hence, the current work presenting a promising water cleanliness method is expected to contribute to the assurance of strict policy compliance and enforcement, resulting in the resolution of the health concerns with respect to hazardous pharmaceutical waste disposal in water bodies.