Persistence and dissipation pathways of the antidepressant sertraline in agricultural soils

Effects of sertraline hydrochloride with As(III) or Cd on rhizosphere micro-environment and root endophytes in rice

This study investigated the effects of the antidepressant sertraline hydrochloride (Ser-HCI) on rice physiology when combined with arsenic (III) or cadmium. Hydroponic experiments revealed that combined lower concentrations (0.2 and 0.6 mg L-1) of Ser-HCl and As (III) or Cd increased rice biomass and reduced pH and low molecular weight organic acids. The fluorescence intensity was enhanced with Ser-HCl and As-only treatments, with a significant difference (p < 0.05) in the dissolved organic matter index. There was a decrease in endophyte-specific operational taxonomic units, with proteobacteria dominating the rice root endophytes. The addition of Ser-HCl resulted in the Verrucomicrobiota increasing by 6.4 times, which was positively correlated with malic acid and negatively correlated with pH. Functional annotation highlighted alterations in carbohydrate metabolism pathways. This study provides insights into the interactive effects of Ser-HCl on rice when combined with As (III) or Cd, addressing gaps in our understanding of the impact of antidepressants on plant systems.

Identifying organic micropollutants' transformation products from the soil dissipation experiment by non-targeted high-resolution mass spectrometry approach: Can we gain more than transformation product identity?

Risk assessment of environmental hazards originating from xenobiotics extensively used worldwide (e.g., pharmaceuticals, bisphenols, or preservatives) requires a combined study of their effects, mobility, dissipation mechanisms, and subsequent transformation product identification and evaluation. We have developed an efficient accelerated solvent extraction method for a broad range of micropollutants of variable physical-chemical properties in soils to enable more accurate hazard characterisation. Micropollutant recoveries from freeze-dried soils were 60-120%, with the exception of atorvastatin, fexofenadine, and telmisartan, which had reduced recoveries (40-66%). The observed matrix effect ranged from -26% to 17% and was corrected by the matrix matching standard for quantitative analysis. The method allows sensitive and reliable determination of a wide range of analytes in soil samples and, consequently, qualitative analysis of transformation products (TP) with variable physicochemical properties. We identified TPs of five compounds (venlafaxine, telmisartan, valsartan, atorvastatin, and sertraline) by applying suspect and non-targeted data analyses. To our knowledge, the transformation product of atorvastatin was reported for the first time. All others were found in soil or other matrices. Valsartan (formed valsartan acid) and atorvastatin (transformed probably by oxidative decarboxylation of beta, delta dihydroxy heptanoic acid chain to propionic acid) were modified to a relatively large extent. All other compounds identified were only hydroxylated (sertraline and telmisartan) or demethylated (venlafaxine). We estimated the stability and presence of the identified TPs based on the constructed time trends and the ratio between TP formation and degradation rates. We demonstrated how valuable a non-targeted approach can be for complex evaluation of the fate and effect of soil pollutants.

Dissipation of twelve organic micropollutants in three different soils: Effect of soil characteristics and microbial composition

The dissipation kinetics and half-lives of selected organic micropollutants, including pharmaceuticals and others, were systematically investigated and compared among different soil types. While some pollutants (e.g., atorvastatin, valsartan, and bisphenol S) disappeared rapidly in all the tested soils, many of them (e.g., telmisartan, memantine, venlafaxine, and azithromycin) remained persistent. Irrespective of the soil characteristics, venlafaxine showed the lowest dissipation kinetics and the longest half-lives (250 to approximately 500 days) among the stable compounds. The highest first and second-order kinetics were, however, recorded for valsartan (k1; 0.262 day-1) and atorvastatin (k2; 33.8 g μg-1 day-1) respectively. Nevertheless, more than 90% (i.e., DT90) of all the rapidly dissipated compounds (i.e., atorvastatin, bisphenol S, and valsartan) disappeared from the tested soils within a short timescale (i.e., 5-36 days). Dissipation of pollutants that are more susceptible to microbial degradation (e.g., atorvastatin, bisphenol S, and valsartan) seems to be slower for soils possessing the lowest microbial biomass C (Cmic) and total phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAtotal), which also found statistically significant. Our results revealing the persistence of several organic pollutants in agricultural soils, which might impact the quality of these soils, the groundwater, and eventually on the related biota, is of high environmental significance.

Understanding the effect of spatial positioning of coated blade spray devices relative to the mass spectrometry inlet on different instrument platforms and its application to quantitative analysis of fentanyl and related analogs

RATIONALE

We evaluated the effect that the spatial positioning of coated-blade spray (CBS) devices with respect to the mass spectrometry (MS) inlet has when coupling to diverse MS platforms (i.e., triple quadrupole, linear ion trap and time of flight). Furthermore, as a proof of concept, we evaluated CBS-MS as a tool for quantitation of fentanyl and four analogues on said instruments.

METHODS

Custom-made MS interfaces were made to accurately position the blade in front of the MS inlet. CBS devices, coated with hydrophilic-lipophilic balanced particles, were used for both the optimization of the CBS position and the quantitation of fentanyl and analogues in urine and plasma samples on all instruments.

RESULTS

The SCIEX triple quadrupole instrument was the most sensitive to the position of the blade due to the presence of a curtain gas flowing laminarly out of the MS inlet. After optimization, the analytical capabilities of CBS on each instrument were assessed and the results obtained on both SCIEX and Waters platforms matched the performance obtained using a more advanced instrument by ThermoFisher Scientific. Furthermore, excellent figures of merit were attained for the quantitation of fentanyl and analogues on both triple quadrupole and linear ion trap platforms.

CONCLUSIONS

We demonstrated that optimization of MS parameters on different instrument vendors and front ends, such as the position of the CBS tip regarding the MS inlet, is vital to exploit the full quantitative potential of this technology. Application of the technology to screen and quantify fentanyl and analogues showed great potential when considering its coupling with portable mass spectrometers for therapeutic drug monitoring and point-of-care applications.

Ultraviolet oxidative degradation of typical antidepressants: Pathway, product toxicity, and DFT theoretical calculation

The ubiquity of antidepressants in the environment has posed a potential threat to eco-systematic safety. In this study, six kinds of antidepressants including fluoxetine (FLU), paroxetine (PAR), sertraline (SER), fluvoxamine (FLX), citalopram (CTP), and venlafaxine (VEN) were selected to explore their degrading kinetics, transformation pathways, and the acute toxicity of the reaction solution during UV oxidation. The results showed that the order of the photodegradation rate was FLU > PAR > SER > CTP > FLX > VEN. The calculation results of density functional theory (DFT) and molecular orbital theory showed that it was positively correlated with the frontier electron density of drugs and negatively correlated with the HOMO-LUMO gap, respectively. Intermediates were identified with UHPLC-Q-TOF/MS/MS to propose the possible degradation pathways of the drugs and the most likely directions of the reactions were determined by the single point energy calculation. The results of toxicity tests indicated that the acute toxicity of the reaction solution of PAR did not change significantly. The photolysates toxicity of FLU, SER, and FLX decreased at the end of the reaction, while that of CTP and VEN was increased by 1.5 and 1.3 times compared with the parent compound, respectively. Toxicity predictions by the quantitative structure activity relationship (QSAR) model showed that except FLU-162, FLX-174, and VEN-230, other degradation products have developmental toxicity. The results revealed the transformation pathways of these drugs under the UV disinfection process in wastewater treatment plants, especially the formation of toxic by-products during the disinfection process.

Biotransformation study of antidepressant sertraline and its removal during biological wastewater treatment

Sertraline is one of the most commonly prescribed antidepressants in the last few years. Therefore, it is not surprising that it is regularly detected in wastewaters, surface waters, sediments, biosolids and biota. Effluents from wastewater treatment plants are the main contributors to its presence in the environment. The presented study aims to elucidate the processes involved in its removal, concentrating mainly on sorption and biodegradation during wastewater treatment. We performed our laboratory scale experiments in two sets of experiments: 1) batch biodegradation and sorption experiments and 2) flow-through laboratory scale pilot wastewater treatment bioreactors. The batch experiments revealed that sorption to activated sludge was the leading removal process, eliminating up to 90% of sertraline present in the batches. Biodegradation was however the secondary removal process, influenced by the presence of alternative easily biodegradable carbon sources. We postulated chemical structures of ten detected biotransformation products. Among these, we propose the previously recognized metabolite norsertraline, sertraline ketone and hydroxy-sertraline. All the remaining biotransformation products are herein reported for the first time. The removal efficiency of approximately 94% was determined after the treatment in the flow-through bioreactors. To support our findings, we sampled influents and effluents from two wastewater treatment plants and untreated wastewater from a psychiatric hospital. Removal efficiencies of 81% and 77% were determined, and along with the parent compound sertraline, the presence of eight transformation products was confirmed in the actual wastewaters.

Determination and photodegradation of sertraline residues in aqueous environment

Sertraline is an antidepressant drug that has been frequently reported in the aquatic environment and biota. While the research has mostly dealt with its occurrence and toxicity, there is a lack of information pertaining to its environmental transformation. The present study aimed to fill in these gaps by giving an insight into mechanisms of sertraline phototransformation in surface waters, which was recognized as the main transformation pathway for this contaminant. We performed photodegradation experiments in presence of photosensitizers or reaction quenchers to determine rate constants and used them to predict sertraline phototransformation kinetics by "Aqueous Photochemistry of Environmentally occurring Xenobiotics" (APEX) software. It was established that sertraline degrades by pseudo-first order kinetics mostly dominated by direct photolysis, while the presence of certain reactive species including ^•OH, CO₃^-• and ³CDOM* further accelerate the compound's breakdown rate. To validate the predicted results, sertraline-spiked surface water was irradiated by sunlight, where the half-life of sertraline at around 1.4 days was estimated. While following the photodegradation kinetics, we also identified five transformation products, of which three were determined in Slovenian surface waters. According to the ECOSAR toxicity prediction, these transformation products will either have comparable or lower toxicity than their parent compound.

Uptake and metabolism of the antidepressants sertraline, clomipramine, and trazodone in a garden cress (Lepidium sativum) model

Environmental contamination with pharmaceuticals has received growing attention in recent years. Several studies describe the presence of traces of drugs in water bodies and soils and their impacts on nontarget organisms including plants. Due to these facts investigations of the uptake and metabolism of pharmaceuticals in organisms is an emerging research area. The present study demonstrates the analysis of three selected antidepressants (sertraline, clomipramine, and trazodone) as well as metabolites and transformation products in a cress model (Lepidium sativum). Cress was treated with tap water containing 10 mg/L of the parent drugs. Employing an analytical approach based on high performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time of flight or Orbitrap mass spectrometry in MS and MS² modes, in total 14 substances were identified in the cress extracts. All three parent drugs were taken up by the cress and translocated from the roots to the leaves in specific patterns. In addition to this, eleven metabolite species were identified. They were generated by hydroxylation, demethylation, conjugation with amino acids, or combinations of these mechanisms. Finally, the inclusion of control cultures in the experimental setup allowed for a differentiation of "true" metabolites generated by the cress and transformation products generated by plant-independent mechanisms.

Psychoactive pharmaceuticals in sludge and their emission from wastewater treatment facilities in Korea

Concern over the occurrence of pharmaceuticals and their metabolites in the environment is mounting due to the potential adverse effects on nontarget organisms. This study draws upon a nationwide survey of psychoactive pharmaceuticals (i.e., antischizophrenics, anxiolytics, and antidepressants) in sludge from 40 representative wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) that receive domestic, industrial, or mixed (domestic plus industrial) wastewaters in Korea. A total of 16 psychoactive pharmaceuticals (0.12-460 ng/g dry weight) and nine of their metabolites (0.97-276 ng/g dry weight) were determined in sludge. The median concentrations of psychoactive drugs in sludge from domestic WWTPs were 1.2-3.2 times higher than the concentrations found in WWTPs that receive combined domestic and industrial wastewaters. Among the psychoactive drugs analyzed, the median environmental emission rates of alprazolam (APZ) and carbamazepine (CBZ) through domestic WWTPs (both sludge and effluent discharges combined) were calculated to be ≥ 15.5 μg/capita/day, followed by quetiapine (QTP; 8.51 μg/capita/day), citalopram (CLP; 5.45 μg/capita/day), and venlafaxine (VLF; 3.59 μg/capita/day). The per-capita emission rates of some of the metabolites of psychoactive drugs through WWTP discharges were higher than those calculated for parent compounds. Significant correlations (ρ = 0.432-0.780, p < 0.05) were found between the concentrations of typically coprescribed antischizophrenics and antidepressants in sludge. Multiple linear regression analysis of measured concentrations of drugs in sludge revealed that several WWTP parameters such as treatment capacity, population-served, sludge production rate, composition of wastewater (domestic versus industrial), and hydraulic retention time can affect the concentrations of psychoactive drugs in sludge.