This document discusses pharmaceuticals in the environment, including reasons for increased interest, pathways of entry, and methods of detection. Interest grew due to declines in eagle and aquatic populations from drugs. Pharmaceuticals enter the environment through urine/feces, manufacturing waste, bathing, and improper disposal, traveling through sewage, air, soil, surface water and groundwater. Detection methods involve collecting solid/water samples, filtration, extraction, separation by HPLC, and mass spectrometric quantification.

1. Pharmaceuticals in the Environment.
By:Abdel-Rahman Ragab

2. Outlines.
1- why interests increased for presence of pharmaceuticals in
the environment ?
2- Pathways for entry into the environment.
3- Environmental detection of pharmaceuticals.

3. Part 1 : why interests
increased for presence
of pharmaceuticals in
the environment ?

4. Vet diclofenac catastrophe.
In 1980s there were up to 80 million eagles in India; but today
the population numbers only several thousand.
99% decline of eagles species in south Asia.

6. Effects on aquatic organisms.
1-tricyclic antidepressants (ppb levels) : affect on development
,spawning and behaviors in shellfish, ciliates and other aquatic
organisms.
2-calcium-channel blockers : affect on sperm activity of some
aquatic.
3- Antiepileptic drugs : trigger extensive apoptosis in the
developing brain of human  neurodegeneration.
4-ppm and sub-ppm levels of various drugs (NSAIDS,
glucocorticoids, anti-fibrotics) affect collagen metabolism in
teleost fish, leading to defective/blocked fin regeneration.
5- Multi-drug transporters (efflux pumps) are common
defensive strategies for aquatic biota — possible significance of
efflux pump inhibitors in compromising aquatic health?

8. Drugs Having Double Uses:
Medicinals and Pest-Control Agents
It poses the possibility that these alternative uses serve as
additional sources for their introduction to
the environment.
Examples:(4-aminopyridine,
warfarin,triclosan,azacholesterols,antibiotics
,acetaminophen,caffeine,NSAIDs and pentobarbital).
Acetaminophen : analgesic and useful for control brown
Tree snake

9. Antibiotics and endocrine disruptors.
-antibiotics cause bacterial resistance .
-endocrine disruptors : interfere with hormone and disrupt its
function ex: estrogen in contraceptive pill.

10. A total of US$954 billion was spent on prescription medications globally in
2011 alone. in 2002 95 contaminant measured in us.
94cg
Figure 1 Number of publications per year for the period 1996–2014 retrieved
using Web of Knowledge™ and the search words “pharmaceutical*” and “waste
water.”

11. Part 2: Pathways for
entry into the
environment.

13. Pathways to sewage.
Wastes of
Pharmaceutical
manufacture
sewage
Urine &
feces
bathing
disposing

14. Pathways to Air .
Non inhaled active
ingredient
insignificant
completely
oxidized to innocuous
compounds such as
carbon dioxide and water

15. Pathways to soil.
Urine &
feces
sewage
disposing
into the waste
bin
Wastes of
Pharmaceutical
manufacture
River/Estuarine/Coastal
water

16. Pathway to water.
Surface water
Sewage treatment
River/Estuarine/Coastal water
Ground water
Landfill

17. Pathway to water
River/Estuarine/Coastal
water
Sewage treatment
Soil
Surface water
swimming

18. Pathway to biota.
River/Estuarine/Coastal
water
Groundwater Drinking water
sources

19. Figure 2 Pathways for entry into the environment.

21. Part 3: Environmental
detection of
pharmaceuticals.

22. Figure 2: Procedures and techniques used in the preparation and analysis of
environmental samples.

23. Sample collection.
Solid sludge.
collection
Placed in glass bottle then freeze-dried and ground
to 250 µm sized particle before storage .

24. Sample collection.
-composite sample, grab sampler,24-h sample with weather
consideration ( rain and seasonal variation).

25. bottle types used for the collection
of water Samples.
-Type chosen according to analyte of interest and environmental sample .
-silanized or not (alkoxysilane molecules).
-recovery % & physicochemical properties important .
Amber Clear glass PET HDPE

26. Sample bottle types used for the collection of water
samples in some field investigations of pharmaceutical analytes

27. Sample storage.
Purpose :prevention bacterial growth & analyte degradation.
When direct analysis isn't available .
Preservative are added ex HCL,HNO3 and H2SO4.
72 h store at 4 °C without preservative.
3 weeks at 4 °C 24 h then frozen at -20 °C for 3 weeks

28. Sample filtration.
Purpose : to remove particulate matter with filter paper.
Type of filter paper depend on analyte of interest
Ex estrogen glass fiber filters

29. Extraction.
Purpose : increase conc of analyte to reach detection limit of device .
2 types Solid-phase extraction & Liquid–liquid extraction.
Solid –phase extraction is suitable .

30. Separtion.
By high performance (pressure) liquid chromatography (HPLC)

31. Mass spectrometric detection and
quantization