Acetaminophen detoxification in cucumber plants via induction of glutathione S-transferases.

Many pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) enter agroecosystems during reuse of treated wastewater and biosolids, presenting potential impacts on plant development. Here, acetaminophen, one of the most-used pharmaceuticals, was used to explore roles of glutathione (GSH) conjugation in its biotransformation in crop plants. Acetaminophen was taken up by plants, and conjugated quickly with GSH. After exposure to 5 mg L-1 acetaminophen for 144 h, GSH-acetaminophen conjugates were 15.2 ± 1.3 nmol g-1 and 1.2 ± 0.1 nmol g-1 in cucumber roots and leaves, respectively. Glutathione-acetaminophen was also observed in common bean, alfalfa, tomato, and wheat. Inhibition of cytochrome P450 decreased GSH conjugation. Moreover, the GSH conjugate was found to further convert to cysteine and N-acetylcysteine conjugates. Glutathione S-transferase activity was significantly elevated after exposure to acetaminophen, while levels of GSH decreased by 55.4% in roots after 48 h, followed by a gradual recovery thereafter. Enzymes involved in GSH synthesis, regeneration and transport were consistently induced to maintain the GSH homeostasis. Therefore, GST-mediated conjugation likely played a crucial role in minimizing phytotoxicity of acetaminophen and other PPCPs in plants

Fate of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in Duckweed and Waste Activated Sludge Under Aerobic and Anaerobic Solids Stabilization Conditions

Twelve commonly used pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs)(acetaminophen, β-Estradiol, caffeine, carbamazepine, DEET, estrone, gemfibrozil, triclosan, TCEP, sulfamethoxazole, progesterone, fluoxetine) were investigated to determine their fate in biosolids. These compounds were selected due to their wide usage, and varying properties, that makes them representative of many other PPCPs. Commonly used PPCPs (caffeine commonly found in tea, coffee, chocolate and soda, the pain reliever acetaminophen, and the pesticide DEET) were detected in high amounts in the influent of the Hyrum WWTP and Wellsville sewage lagoons. Although conventional WWTPs are not designed to remove PPCPs from wastewater, some PPCPs, such as acetaminophen, caffeine and DEET, were removed from the wastewater while other PPCPs persisted in the effluent and biosolids. The application of biosolids to land as fertilizer could introduce PPCPs into the soil, which may be bioavailable to soil flora and fauna. In this study, two solid stabilization processes were investigated to determine their effect on PPCPs removal from biosolids. Composting proved to be an effective option for removing PPCPs from biosolids

Environmentally friendly analysis of emerging contaminants by pressurized hot water extraction-stir bar sorptive extraction-derivatization and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

This work describes the development, optimiza- tion, and validation of a new method for the simultaneous determination of a wide range of pharmaceuticals (beta- blockers, lipid regulators ... ) and personal care products (fragrances, UV filters, phthalates ... ) in both aqueous and solid environmental matrices. Target compounds were extracted from sediments using pressurized hot water ex- traction followed by stir bar sorptive extraction. The first stage was performed at 1,500 psi during three static extrac- tion cycles of 5 min each after optimizing the extraction temperature (50 – 150 °C) and addition of organic modifiers (% methanol) to water, the extraction solvent. Next, aqueous extracts and water samples were processed using polydime- thylsiloxane bars. Several parameters were optimized for this technique, including extraction and desorption time, ionic strength, presence of organic modifiers, and pH. Fi- nally, analytes were extracted from the bars by ultrasonic irradiation using a reduced amount of solvent (0.2 mL) prior to derivatization and gas chromatography – mass spectrome- try analysis. The optimized protocol uses minimal amounts of organic solvents (<10 mL/sample) and time ( ≈ 8 h/sam- ple) compared to previous ex isting methodologies. Low standard deviation (usually below 10 %) and limits of de- tection (sub-ppb) vouch for the applicability of the method- ology for the analysis of target compounds at trace levels. Once developed, the method was applied to determin

Combination of ozone and activated carbon for Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) removal in drinking water: influence of compounds characteristics and organic matter competition

The presence of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) in drinking water is raising concern for potential negative effects on human health. Ozonation and adsorption on activated carbon (AC) are the most promising processes for PPCPs removal among those usually present in drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs). To evaluate the performance of these processes, both individually and in combination, adsorption isotherms were determined on real matrices collected in a DWTP before and after ozonation, focusing on 10 PPCPs identified as the most critical for the analysed DWTP. AC showed higher PPCPs removals than ozonation, but the combination of the two processes was beneficial. However, the effect of ozone on adsorption depends on PPCPs reactivity with ozone. A competitive effect of organic matter on PPCPs adsorption was observed. Finally, the removal of absorbance at 254 nm is a good proxy variable for PPCPs removal

The Occurrence, Fate, Environmental Impact, and Management Implications of Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products in Wastewater and the Environment

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are a critical part of modern life. However, there is growing evidence that the levels of PPCPs detected in wastewater effluent and in the environment have the potential to cause damage to aquatic organisms. These pollutants enter the aquatic environment primarily through human use, disposal in the drain or toilet, land application of biosolids, and veterinary sources. Numerous questions remain regarding the occurrence, fate, and impacts of PPCPs in wastewater, along with limited feasible management recommendations that would adequately mitigate the risk from these pollutants. This dissertation will present three advances in the field of PPCPs in the aquatic environment: 1) An experiment that describes the occurrence of PPCPs in a large scale urban wastewater treatment plant and the assessment of a model that predicts the removal of these PPCPs across the different wastewater treatment processes; 2) A study that monitors the occurrence of PPCPs in Lake Michigan and an assessment of the ecological risks at the detected levels; and 3) A case study that provides an analysis of current wastewater treatment regulations (e.g. requiring phosphorus removal from wastewater) and whether the regulations can be modified to remove unregulated PPCPs. Overall, this research provides an assessment of the fate, occurrence, and corresponding ecological damage from PPCPs in wastewater and the environment, along with an evaluation of a potential management technique. The major contribution of this work is to further the understanding of the distribution and fate of PPCPs in the aquatic environment, which can ultimately be used to assist in constructing relevant policy and management recommendations

Investigating the Sorption of Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products on High-Density Polyethylene and Polypropylene Microplastics

The term “microplastics” refers to plastic particles with a diameter of 5mm or less. Microplastics are capable of sorbing organic contaminants to concentrations magnitudes higher than the surrounding water. One such contaminants class is a group of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs). As of now, very little information is known about the sorption behavior of PPCPs on microplastics; therefore, to better understand the interaction between PPCPs and microplastics, their sorption behavior must be studied. The goal of this project is to explore and evaluate the sorption behavior of polar and ionizable PPCPs onto microplastics. The PPCPs in this study were: diphenhydramine, an antihistamine, venlafaxine hydrochloride, an antidepressant, and N, N-diethylmeta-toluamide (DEET), which is an insect repellant.NSF, Sea Gran

Occurrence and transport of polar pollutants in coastal ecosystems

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) belong to the class of polar pollutants and are of emerging concern in the aquatic environment. This thesis investigated the occurrence of PPCPs in the Baltic Sea, East and South China Sea and their transportation along rivers. The conducted field work revealed, that PPCPs can already be detected in the off-shore regions of the East and South China Sea and near the coast of the Baltic Sea. Furthermore, distribution pattern of PPCs in rivers of different physical dynamics and sizes are described within this work.Arzneimittel und Körperpflegeprodukte (PPCPs) gehören zur Gruppe der polaren Schadstoffe und sorgen für größer werdende Besorgnis in der aquatischen Umwelt. In dieser Dissertation wurde das Vorkommen von PPCPs in der Ostsee, in dem Ost- und Südchinesischen Meer und deren Transport in Flüssen untersucht. Die Feldversuche zeigten, dass PPCPs auf offener See im Ost- und Südchinesischen Meer und küstennah in der Ostsee zu finden sind. Weiterhin werden die unterschiedlichen Verteilungsmuster von PPCPs in Flüssen mit unterschiedlichen physikalischen Regimen und Größen in dieser Arbeit beschrieben