TY - JOUR
T1 - A multiresidue analytical method using solid-phase extraction and high-pressure liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry to measure pharmaceuticals of different therapeutic classes in urban wastewaters
AU - Castiglioni, Sara
AU - Bagnati, Renzo
AU - Calamari, Davide
AU - Fanelli, Roberto
AU - Zuccato, Ettore
PY - 2005/10/28
Y1 - 2005/10/28
N2 - An analytical method with two extraction steps has been developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of 30 pharmaceuticals belonging to various therapeutic categories in urban wastewater. The aim was to boost the little available information on drugs' fates in sewage treatment plants (STPs) and in the receiving surface water. Aqueous samples were divided into two aliquots, each extracted by a different solid-phase extraction (SPE) method and analysed by reversed-phase liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS-MS). Recoveries of the pharmaceuticals were mostly greater than 70% and the overall variability of the method was below 8%. The instrumental quantification limit (IQL) varied between 30 and 400 pg injected, and the limits of quantification (LOQ) were in the low ng/L range. Nineteen pharmaceuticals were detected in concentrations between 0.5 and 2000 ng/L in effluents collected from several STPs in Italy. Atenolol, ciprofloxacin, furosemide, hydrochlorothiazide, ofloxacin, ranitidine and sulphamethoxazole were the most abundant compounds. The present analytical method was useful to check for pharmaceuticals in various Italian STPs and to identify the most abundant compounds.
AB - An analytical method with two extraction steps has been developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of 30 pharmaceuticals belonging to various therapeutic categories in urban wastewater. The aim was to boost the little available information on drugs' fates in sewage treatment plants (STPs) and in the receiving surface water. Aqueous samples were divided into two aliquots, each extracted by a different solid-phase extraction (SPE) method and analysed by reversed-phase liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS-MS). Recoveries of the pharmaceuticals were mostly greater than 70% and the overall variability of the method was below 8%. The instrumental quantification limit (IQL) varied between 30 and 400 pg injected, and the limits of quantification (LOQ) were in the low ng/L range. Nineteen pharmaceuticals were detected in concentrations between 0.5 and 2000 ng/L in effluents collected from several STPs in Italy. Atenolol, ciprofloxacin, furosemide, hydrochlorothiazide, ofloxacin, ranitidine and sulphamethoxazole were the most abundant compounds. The present analytical method was useful to check for pharmaceuticals in various Italian STPs and to identify the most abundant compounds.
KW - High-pressure liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS-MS)
KW - Pharmaceuticals
KW - Sewage treatment plant (STP)
KW - Urban wastewaters
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U2 - 10.1016/j.chroma.2005.07.012
DO - 10.1016/j.chroma.2005.07.012
M3 - Article
C2 - 16199227
AN - SCOPUS:25844491008
VL - 1092
SP - 206
EP - 215
JO - Journal of Chromatography A
JF - Journal of Chromatography A
SN - 0021-9673
IS - 2
ER -