De Brabander, H.F.

De Wulf, E.

Janssen, C.R.

Noppe, H.

Van Caeter, P.

Vanden Bussche, J.

Vanhaecke, L.

Verheyden, K.

Wille, K.

Open Marine Archive

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DETERMINATION OF PHARMACEUTICALS IN WATER SAMPLES OF THE 
BELGIAN COASTAL ZONE AND THE SCHELDT ESTUARY USING LC-MS  
Wille K.1, H. Noppe1, K. Verheyden1, J. Vanden Bussche1, L. Vanhaecke1, E. De Wulf², 
P. Van Caeter², C.R. Janssen³, and H.F. De Brabander1 
1 Ghent University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Research Group of Veterinary Public Health 
and Zoonoses, Laboratory of Chemical Analysis, Salisburylaan 133, 9820 Merelbeke, 
Belgium (Klaas.wille@UGent.be) 
² Flemish Environmental Agency (FEA), Krijgslaan 281, S2, 9000 Gent, Belgium 
³ Ghent University, Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Aquatic Ecology, J. 
Plateaustraat 22, 9000 Gent, Belgium 
 
Pharmaceuticals are the active substances of medicinal products used in human and 
veterinary medicine. They are excreted either in their native form or as a metabolite and 
are discharged to the sewer system (Fent et al., 2006). Via the sewage water 
pharmaceuticals reach the waste water treatment plant where they are not completely 
degraded, resulting in a continuous release of pharmaceuticals in the aquatic 
environment (Hernando et al., 2006). In recent years, numerous monitoring studies 
have demonstrated the occurrence of pharmaceuticals in the aquatic system at 
concentration levels from the low ng.l-1 up to μg.l-1 concentration level (Gros et al., 
2006; Ternes, 1998). Based on current evidence, little is known about the occurrence 
and the persistence of pharmaceuticals in the marine ecosystem (Weigel et al., 2002). 
The objectives of this study were at first to develop and validate an analytical approach 
for the determination of 15 pharmaceuticals in surface water, including sea- and 
freshwater. Secondly, the method was applied to samples of the North Sea and the 
Scheldt Estuary in order to know more about the presence of pharmaceuticals in the 
marine environment and their transfer to estuarine and marine ecosystems. This study, 
which is part of the INRAM project (www.vliz.be/projects/inram), is the first to report the 
detection of concentrations of pharmaceuticals up to 0.855 μg.l-1 in the marine 
environment. 
References 
Fent K., A.A. Weston and D. Caminada. 2006. Ecotoxicology of human pharmaceuticals. 
Aquat. Toxicol. 76:122-159.  
Hernando M.D., M. Mezcua, A.R. Fernández-Alba and D. Barceló. 2006. Environmental risk 
assessment of pharmaceutical residues in wastewater effluents, surface waters and 
sediments. Talanta 69:334-342. 
Gros M., M. Petrovic and D. Barceló. 2006. Development of a multi-residue analytical 
methodology based on liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for 
screening and trace level determination of pharmaceuticals in surface and wastewaters. 
Talanta 70:678-690. 
Ternes T.A. 1998. Occurrence of drugs in German sewage treatment plants and rivers. Wat. 
Res. 32:3245-3260. 
Weigel S., J. Kuhlmann and H. Hühnerfuss. 2002. Drugs and personal care products as 
ubiquitous pollutants: occurrence and distribution of clofibric acid, caffeine an DEET in the 
North Sea. Sci. Total Environ. 295:131-141. 


Determination of pharmaceuticals in water samples of the Belgian coastal zone and the Scheldt Estuary using LC-MS

Determination of pharmaceuticals in water samples of the Belgian coastal zone and the Scheldt Estuary using LC-MS

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