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Screening test battery for pharmaceuticals in urine and wastewater
Author(s) -
Escher Beate I.,
Bramaz Nadine,
Maurer Max,
Richter Manuela,
Sutter Daniel,
von Känel Christoph,
Zschokke Mischa
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
environmental toxicology and chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1552-8618
pISSN - 0730-7268
DOI - 10.1897/04-091r.1
Subject(s) - wastewater , chromatography , urine , chemistry , bioassay , environmental chemistry , ecotoxicity , solid phase extraction , pulp and paper industry , extraction (chemistry) , environmental science , toxicity , environmental engineering , biology , biochemistry , organic chemistry , engineering , genetics
A test battery for identifying ecotoxicological hazards was applied to six pharmaceuticals (carbamazepine, diclofenac, ethinylestradiol, ibuprofen, propranolol, and sulfamethoxazole), to their mixtures, and to urine spiked with pharmaceuticals to test the suitability of biotests for screening urine and wastewater and for monitoring the efficiency of wastewater treatment. The test battery comprised the bioluminescence inhibition test with Vibrio fischeri , the yeast estrogen screen, and a photosynthesis inhibition assay in algae based on chlorophyll fluorescence measurements. Mixture and additional experiments with a cocktail of pharmaceuticals added to urine confirmed the applicability of the test systems as an integrated measure of the overall micropollutant burden. Because the concentration of pharmaceuticals in wastewater is low and the nutrients and salts may have a negative impact on the bioassays, urine and wastewater samples were cleaned and concentrated by solid‐phase extraction (SPE). The compounds of interest ranged from polar to nonpolar and from positively charged to neutral and negatively charged. Consequently, the SPE method was optimized for universality rather than for specificity. Results of preliminary experiments with raw and treated urine and wastewater indicate the suitability of the proposed test battery for screening urine and wastewater.