2 Fresh Water
After analysis and selection of 183 retrieved records, the search strategy for fresh
water ends up with 38 studies for inclusion in this section of the review. From the
total, only 7 articles were published in the period from 1976 to 2000, but as of 2001
the investigations on the subject began to rise. Particularly since year 2010, research
about the occurrence of NSAIDs in freshwater reservoirs has been continuous and
consistent. In fact, in recent years, research has basically focused on the development
of more sensitive but at the same time simpler methods for the detection of NSAIDs
both in river and lake water and in sediments. Novel and more effective sample
preparation methods have also been under development.
Magnetic adsorption, enantiomeric analysis, immunosensors, and nanomaterials
stand out among the most explored techniques to improve NSAID detection.
Regarding degradation methods, photodegradation, and biodegradation of NSAIDs
using algae and aquatic plants have been the most published techniques in recent
years.
The main feature of the articles excluded from this review was that the analyzed
water samples were artificial, since even when the matrix samples were taken
directly from a river or lake, spiked NSAID standards of known concentrations
were added in the laboratory to evaluate the performance of an analytical method or
of a degradation procedure developed for these drugs.
Other articles were excluded because the measurement of the presence of
NSAIDs in water samples was made indirectly, for example, by measuring the
changes detected in the pH of the analyzed water, or the concentration of their
metabolites or photodegradation products. Also, some studies were excluded
because the water studied did not come from a natural source (rivers, lakes, lagoons)
but from aquariums. Figure 1 shows the process and eligibility criteria used to rule
out and include studies for this section of the chapter.
Tables 2, 3, and 4 present the summary of the included studies reporting the
prevalence of NSAIDs in fresh surface waters in two different concentration ranges,
micrograms per liter (μg/L) and nanograms per liter (ng/L), and for river sediments
in terms of dry weight (μg/kg and ng/kg).
Most of the articles included in this review section presented two variables in
common: they studied samples from river waters and used liquid chromatography
coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to determine the concentration of
NSAIDs.
An Italian study carried out by Zuccato et al. [42] detected through LC-MS/MS
the presence of ibuprofen in the Lambro River at concentrations of 20 ng/L and in
the Po River at a maximum concentration of 17.4 ng/L. The authors mentioned that
the quantities reached by pharmaceutical products in surface waters are affected by
effluents from treatment plants but also by their degradation susceptibility. Unfortunately, the degradation rates of several drugs in the environment are not known,
and to a limited extent they are estimated from degradation data under laboratory
conditions.
Worldwide Occurrence, Detection, and Fate of Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory. . .
61
After analysis and selection of 183 retrieved records, the search strategy for fresh
water ends up with 38 studies for inclusion in this section of the review. From the
total, only 7 articles were published in the period from 1976 to 2000, but as of 2001
the investigations on the subject began to rise. Particularly since year 2010, research
about the occurrence of NSAIDs in freshwater reservoirs has been continuous and
consistent. In fact, in recent years, research has basically focused on the development
of more sensitive but at the same time simpler methods for the detection of NSAIDs
both in river and lake water and in sediments. Novel and more effective sample
preparation methods have also been under development.
Magnetic adsorption, enantiomeric analysis, immunosensors, and nanomaterials
stand out among the most explored techniques to improve NSAID detection.
Regarding degradation methods, photodegradation, and biodegradation of NSAIDs
using algae and aquatic plants have been the most published techniques in recent
years.
The main feature of the articles excluded from this review was that the analyzed
water samples were artificial, since even when the matrix samples were taken
directly from a river or lake, spiked NSAID standards of known concentrations
were added in the laboratory to evaluate the performance of an analytical method or
of a degradation procedure developed for these drugs.
Other articles were excluded because the measurement of the presence of
NSAIDs in water samples was made indirectly, for example, by measuring the
changes detected in the pH of the analyzed water, or the concentration of their
metabolites or photodegradation products. Also, some studies were excluded
because the water studied did not come from a natural source (rivers, lakes, lagoons)
but from aquariums. Figure 1 shows the process and eligibility criteria used to rule
out and include studies for this section of the chapter.
Tables 2, 3, and 4 present the summary of the included studies reporting the
prevalence of NSAIDs in fresh surface waters in two different concentration ranges,
micrograms per liter (μg/L) and nanograms per liter (ng/L), and for river sediments
in terms of dry weight (μg/kg and ng/kg).
Most of the articles included in this review section presented two variables in
common: they studied samples from river waters and used liquid chromatography
coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to determine the concentration of
NSAIDs.
An Italian study carried out by Zuccato et al. [42] detected through LC-MS/MS
the presence of ibuprofen in the Lambro River at concentrations of 20 ng/L and in
the Po River at a maximum concentration of 17.4 ng/L. The authors mentioned that
the quantities reached by pharmaceutical products in surface waters are affected by
effluents from treatment plants but also by their degradation susceptibility. Unfortunately, the degradation rates of several drugs in the environment are not known,
and to a limited extent they are estimated from degradation data under laboratory
conditions.
Worldwide Occurrence, Detection, and Fate of Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory. . .
61