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Photodegradation of common environmental pharmaceuticals and estrogens in river water
Author(s) -
Lin Angela YuChen,
Reinhard Martin
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 - 10.1897/04-236r.1
Subject(s) - naproxen , ketoprofen , chemistry , estrone , estriol , environmental chemistry , ethinylestradiol , photodegradation , chromatography , organic chemistry , photocatalysis , medicine , population , biochemistry , alternative medicine , demography , pathology , sociology , hormone , research methodology , catalysis
Abstract Photodegradation rates of five pharmaceuticals (gemfibrozil, ibuprofen, ketoprofen, naproxen, and propranolol) and of four estrogens (estriol, estrone [E 1 ], 17β‐estradiol [E 2 ], and 17α‐ethinylestradiol [EE 2 ]), which are common contaminants in the aquatic environment, were measured in both purified and river water at environmentally relevant concentrations (1–2 μg/L) and different oxygen concentrations. Solutions were irradiated with a xenon arc lamp (765 W/m 2 ; 290 nm < λ < 700 nm) and analyzed using a high‐performance liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry method with electrospray ionization for pharmaceuticals and atmospheric pressure photoionization for estrogens. In river water, half‐lives were 4.1 h for ketoprofen, 1.1 min for propranolol, 1.4 h for naproxen, 2 to 3 h for estrogens, and 15 h for gemfibrozil and ibuprofen. In air‐saturated purified water, rates generally were slower except for that of ketoprofen, which reacted with a half‐life of 2.5 min. Naproxen, propranolol, and E 1 reacted with half‐lives of 1.9, 4.4, and 4.7 h, respectively. The EE 2 , estriol, E 2 , gemfibrozil, and ibuprofen reacted with half‐lives of 28.4, 38.2, 41.7, 91.4, and 205 h, respectively. The presence of oxygen doubled the direct photolysis rates of naproxen and propranolol. In nonautoclaved river water, 80% of E 2 rapidly biotransformed to E 1 within less than 20 min, whereas all other compounds remained stable over 22 h.