Use of Fluorescence Spectroscopy and Chemometrics to Visualise Fluoroquinolones Photodegradation Major Trends: A Confirmation Study with Mass Spectrometry

[EN] In this work, we employed EEM-PARAFAC (fluorescence excitation-emission matrices-parallel factor analysis) as a low-cost tool to study the oxidation pathways of (fluoro)quinolones. Amounts of 12.5 ¿M of enrofloxacin (ENR), ciprofloxacin (CIP), ofloxacin (OFL), oxolinic acid (OA), and flumequine (FLU), as individual solutions, were irradiated under UVA light. A 5-component PARAFAC model was obtained, four of them related to the parent pollutants, named as ENR-like (including CIP), OFL-like, OA-like, and FLU-like, and an additional one related to photoproducts, called ENRox-like (with an emission red-shift with respect to the ENR-like component). Mass spectrometry was employed to correlate the five PARAFAC components with their plausible molecular structures. Results indicated that photoproducts presenting: (i) hydroxylation or alkyl cleavages exhibited fingerprints analogous to those of the parent pollutants; (ii) defluorination and hydroxylation emitted within the ENRox-like region; (iii) the aforementioned changes plus piperazine ring cleavage emitted within the OA-like region. Afterwards, the five antibiotics were mixed in a single solution (each at a concentration of 0.25 ¿M) in seawater, PARAFAC being also able to deconvolute the fingerprint of humic-like substances. This approach could be a potential game changer in the analysis of (fluorescent) contaminants of emerging concern removals in complex matrices, giving rapid visual insights into the degradation pathways.This work is part of a project that received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 765860 (AQUAlity). The paper reflects only the authors' view and the Agency is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains. The authors also wish to thank the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MCI) for funding under the AquaEnAgri Project (Reference: PID2021-126400OB-C31). Further thanks goes to the Water JPI-Biodiversa COFUND Program for funding the BIORESET project and supporting the research of the scientist Laura Ferrando Climent.Sciscenko, IM.; García-Negueroles, P.; Amat Payá, AM.; Oller, I.; Escudero-Oñate, C.; Ferrando-Climent, L.; Arqués Sanz, A. (2023). Use of Fluorescence Spectroscopy and Chemometrics to Visualise Fluoroquinolones Photodegradation Major Trends: A Confirmation Study with Mass Spectrometry. Molecules. 28(2). https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules2802077728

Wastewater treatment by microalgae

The growth of the world's population increases the demand for fresh water, food, energy, and technology, which in turn leads to increasing amount of wastewater, produced both by domestic and industrial sources. These different wastewaters contain a wide variety of organic and inorganic compounds which can cause tremendous environmental problems if released untreated. Traditional treatment systems are usually expensive, energy demanding and are often still incapable of solving all challenges presented by the produced wastewaters. Microalgae are promising candidates for wastewater reclamation as they are capable of reducing the amount of nitrogen and phosphate as well as other toxic compounds including heavy metals or pharmaceuticals. Compared to the traditional systems, photosynthetic microalgae require less energy input since they use sunlight as their energy source, and at the same time lower the carbon footprint of the overall reclamation process. This mini-review focuses on recent advances in wastewater reclamation using microalgae. The most common microalgal strains used for this purpose are described as well as the challenges of using wastewater from different origins. We also describe the impact of climate with a particular focus on a Nordic climate

The evolution of the ventilatory ratio is a prognostic factor in mechanically ventilated COVID-19 ARDS patients

Background: Mortality due to COVID-19 is high, especially in patients requiring mechanical ventilation. The purpose of the study is to investigate associations between mortality and variables measured during the first three days of mechanical ventilation in patients with COVID-19 intubated at ICU admission. Methods: Multicenter, observational, cohort study includes consecutive patients with COVID-19 admitted to 44 Spanish ICUs between February 25 and July 31, 2020, who required intubation at ICU admission and mechanical ventilation for more than three days. We collected demographic and clinical data prior to admission; information about clinical evolution at days 1 and 3 of mechanical ventilation; and outcomes. Results: Of the 2,095 patients with COVID-19 admitted to the ICU, 1,118 (53.3%) were intubated at day 1 and remained under mechanical ventilation at day three. From days 1 to 3, PaO2/FiO2 increased from 115.6 [80.0-171.2] to 180.0 [135.4-227.9] mmHg and the ventilatory ratio from 1.73 [1.33-2.25] to 1.96 [1.61-2.40]. In-hospital mortality was 38.7%. A higher increase between ICU admission and day 3 in the ventilatory ratio (OR 1.04 [CI 1.01-1.07], p = 0.030) and creatinine levels (OR 1.05 [CI 1.01-1.09], p = 0.005) and a lower increase in platelet counts (OR 0.96 [CI 0.93-1.00], p = 0.037) were independently associated with a higher risk of death. No association between mortality and the PaO2/FiO2 variation was observed (OR 0.99 [CI 0.95 to 1.02], p = 0.47). Conclusions: Higher ventilatory ratio and its increase at day 3 is associated with mortality in patients with COVID-19 receiving mechanical ventilation at ICU admission. No association was found in the PaO2/FiO2 variation

Analysis of chemotherapy drugs and related compounds in aquatic environment: removal, transformation and risk evaluation in eco-friendly and advanced technologies

In order to evaluate the increasing environmental and human risk of anticancer drugs in the environment, more information needs to be gathered about their presence, their toxicity, bioaccumulation and persistence. In addition, their removal performance in conventional wastewater treatment facilities and in alternative treatments needs further investigation efforts. The aim of this thesis is to fill knowledge gaps and provide tools for a better assessment about the presence and fate of anticancer drugs in the urban water cycle. The work presented hereby includes three main objectives: i) to develop analytical methodologies for target and non-target analysis of anticancer drugs in aquatic environment, ii) to assess the occurrence of anticancer drugs in urban systems and iii) to appraise different technological alternatives to remove anticancer drugs from polluted effluentsPer tal d'avaluar l'augment de risc ambiental i humà de medicaments contra el càncer en el medi ambient, més informació necessita ser recopilada sobre la seva presència, la seva toxicitat, bioacumulació i persistència. A més, la seva capacitat d'eliminació d'aigües residuals en plantes de tractament convencionals i en tractaments alternatius necessita a investigacions addicionals. L'objectiu d'aquesta tesi és omplir els buits de coneixement i proporcionar eines per a una millor avaluació de la presència i el destí dels medicaments contra el càncer en el cicle urbà de l'aigua. El treball presentat per aquest mitjà inclou tres objectius principals: i) desenvolupar metodologies analítiques per a la meta i anàlisi que no són objecte de medicaments contra el càncer a medi aquàtic, ii) per avaluar l'ocurrència de medicaments contra el càncer en els sistemes urbans i iii) per avaluar diferents alternatives tecnològiques a eliminar medicaments contra el càncer d'efluents contaminat

Analysis of chemotherapy drugs and related compounds in aquatic environment: removal, transformation and risk evaluation in eco-friendly and advanced technologies

In order to evaluate the increasing environmental and human risk of anticancer drugs in the environment, more information needs to be gathered about their presence, their toxicity, bioaccumulation and persistence. In addition, their removal performance in conventional wastewater treatment facilities and in alternative treatments needs further investigation efforts. The aim of this thesis is to fill knowledge gaps and provide tools for a better assessment about the presence and fate of anticancer drugs in the urban water cycle. The work presented hereby includes three main objectives: i) to develop analytical methodologies for target and non-target analysis of anticancer drugs in aquatic environment, ii) to assess the occurrence of anticancer drugs in urban systems and iii) to appraise different technological alternatives to remove anticancer drugs from polluted effluentsPer tal d'avaluar l'augment de risc ambiental i humà de medicaments contra el càncer en el medi ambient, més informació necessita ser recopilada sobre la seva presència, la seva toxicitat, bioacumulació i persistència. A més, la seva capacitat d'eliminació d'aigües residuals en plantes de tractament convencionals i en tractaments alternatius necessita a investigacions addicionals. L'objectiu d'aquesta tesi és omplir els buits de coneixement i proporcionar eines per a una millor avaluació de la presència i el destí dels medicaments contra el càncer en el cicle urbà de l'aigua. El treball presentat per aquest mitjà inclou tres objectius principals: i) desenvolupar metodologies analítiques per a la meta i anàlisi que no són objecte de medicaments contra el càncer a medi aquàtic, ii) per avaluar l'ocurrència de medicaments contra el càncer en els sistemes urbans i iii) per avaluar diferents alternatives tecnològiques a eliminar medicaments contra el càncer d'efluents contaminat

Sustainable microalgae-based technology for biotransformation of benzalkonium chloride in oil and gas produced water: A laboratory-scale study

Many countries have implemented stringent regulatory standards for discharging produced water (PW) from the oil and gas extraction process. Among the different chemical pollutants occurring in PW, surfactants are widely applied in the oil and gas industry to provide a barrier from metal corrosion. However, the release of these substances from the shale formation can pose serious hazardous impacts on the aquatic environment. In this study, a low-cost and eco-friendly microalgae laboratory-scale technology has been tested for biotransformation of benzalkonium chloride (BACC12 and BACC14) in seawater and PW during 14-days of treatment (spiked at 5 mg/L). From the eight microalgae strains selected, Tetraselmis suecica showed the highest removal rates of about 100% and 54% in seawater and PW, respectively. Suspect screening analysis using liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) allowed the identification of 12 isomeric intermediates generated coming from biotransformation mechanisms. Among them, the intermediate [OH-BACC12] was found as the most intense compound generated from BACC12, while the intermediate [2OH-BACC14] was found as the most intense compound generated from BACC14. The suggested chemical structures demonstrated a high reduction on their amphiphilic properties, and thus, their tendency to be adsorbed into sediments after water discharge. In this study, Tetraselmis suecica was classified as the most successful specie to reduce the surfactant activity of benzalkonium chloride in treated effluents.publishedVersio

Identification of markers of cancer in urban sewage through the use of a suspect screening approach

The administration of anticancer drugs during chemotherapy treatments has increased considerably in recent years, and based on the growing incidence of cancer worldwide there is a foreseen increase in their use over the coming years. Many anticancer drugs are not removed by conventional wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and can therefore reach the aquatic environment and potentially threaten aquatic life. The objective of this work was to apply a suspect screening methodology to detect chemotherapy and radiotherapy drugs and their related compounds such metabolites and/or biomarkers in wastewater. The use of logical pre-determined criteria to refine the suspect list down to a relatively small number of relevant compounds greatly improved the efficiency of the analysis. Mass accuracy, isotopic patterns and predicted retention time were used to tentatively identify the suspects. Successful identification of cancer-related suspects included two antineoplastic hormones, two X-ray contrast agents and a pyrrolizidine alkaloid related to an herbal medicine. This is the first time that a suspect screening paradigm has been successfully applied to the identification of pharmaceuticals and biomarkers related to chemotherapy in wastewater

Wastewater treatment by microalgae

The growth of the world's population increases the demand for fresh water, food, energy, and technology, which in turn leads to increasing amount of wastewater, produced both by domestic and industrial sources. These different wastewaters contain a wide variety of organic and inorganic compounds which can cause tremendous environmental problems if released untreated. Traditional treatment systems are usually expensive, energy demanding and are often still incapable of solving all challenges presented by the produced wastewaters. Microalgae are promising candidates for wastewater reclamation as they are capable of reducing the amount of nitrogen and phosphate as well as other toxic compounds including heavy metals or pharmaceuticals. Compared to the traditional systems, photosynthetic microalgae require less energy input since they use sunlight as their energy source, and at the same time lower the carbon footprint of the overall reclamation process. This mini-review focuses on recent advances in wastewater reclamation using microalgae. The most common microalgal strains used for this purpose are described as well as the challenges of using wastewater from different origins. We also describe the impact of climate with a particular focus on a Nordic climate.Special Issue</p