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Dear Colleagues,

Scientists are still on the lookout for novel and improved methods to determine the different compounds available in various samples. The determined solutes have diverse origins, and their actions can have positive or negative effects on humans and animals. Thus, the development of methods that lead to the identification and determination of minor or even ultra-minor compounds is important. The problem requiring a solution is not only the detection of a very small amount of analyte, but also the ways to deal with the matrix problem; the latter may be food, biological, or even environmental samples.

Application of analytical methods can lead to the successful separation and identification of compounds. Distinguishing mixture compounds is based on differences in their physicochemical properties, involving various techniques (chromatographic, spectroscopic, electroanalytical, etc.), some of which enhance the sensitivity and are linked to several detection techniques (electrochemical, DAD, NMR, MS, etc.).

Given this context, the present Special Issue invites scholars to share their achievements in the field of analytical methods development. We particularly welcome papers concerning the determination of solutes in food, biological, and environmental samples; however, the scope of this Special Issue is not just confined to these topics.

Dr. Beata Polak
Prof. Dr. Irina B. Karadjova
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Related Special Issues

Published Papers (1 paper)

Research

15 pages, 1562 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Monitoring Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in Healthcare Effluent Wastewater Samples and the Effectiveness of Drug Removal in Wastewater Treatment Plants Using the UHPLC-MS/MS Method

by Lucia Molnarova, Tatana Halesova, Daniela Tomesova, Marta Vaclavikova and Zuzana Bosakova

Molecules 2024, 29(7), 1480; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29071480 - 27 Mar 2024

Viewed by 648

Abstract

A multi-residue UHPLC–MS/MS analytical method, previously developed for monitoring 52 pharmaceuticals in drinking water, was used to analyse these pharmaceuticals in wastewater originating from healthcare facilities in the Czech Republic. Furthermore, the methodology was expanded to include the evaluation of the effectiveness of drug removal in Czech wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Of the 18 wastewater samples analysed by the validated UHPLC-MS/MS, each sample contained at least one quantifiable analyte. This study reveals the prevalence of several different drugs; mean concentrations of 702 μg L⁻¹ of iomeprol, 48.8 μg L⁻¹ of iopromide, 29.9 μg L⁻¹ of gabapentin, 42.0 μg L⁻¹ of caffeine and 82.5 μg L⁻¹ of paracetamol were present. An analysis of 20 samples from ten WWTPs revealed different removal efficiencies for different analytes. Paracetamol was present in the inflow samples of all ten WWTPs and its removal efficiency was 100%. Analytes such as caffeine, ketoprofen, naproxen or atenolol showed high removal efficiencies exceeding 80%. On the other hand, pharmaceuticals like furosemide, metoprolol, iomeprol, zolpidem and tramadol showed lower removal efficiencies. Four pharmaceuticals exhibited higher concentrations in WWTP effluents than in the influents, resulting in negative removal efficiencies: warfarin at −9.5%, indomethacin at −53%, trimethoprim at −54% and metronidazole at −110%. These comprehensive findings contribute valuable insights to the pharmaceutical landscape of wastewater from healthcare facilities and the varied removal efficiencies of Czech WWTPs, which together with the already published literature, gives a more complete picture of the burden on the aquatic environment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development of Analytical Methods in Food, Biological and Environmental Samples Determination: 3rd Edition)

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