Pharmaceutical substances in ambient particulates: A preliminary assessment.

Pharmaceutical substances in ambient particulates: A preliminary assessment. Chemosphere. 2017 May 18;183:62-68 Authors: Cecinato A, Romagnoli P, Perilli M, Balducci C Abstract Till now, no attention has been paid to pharmaceuticals (PCs) in the air, though they are known to affect waters, soils, foods and biota. This paper describes the first attempt to characterize the PC occurrence in the air. Airborne particulates (PM10 or PM2.5 fractions, from Amsterdam, Netherland, Rome and Rende, Italy) were sampled on quartz fiber filter by means of pumping systems operating at medium-volume conditions (16 or 38.5 L min(-1)). The samples were solvent extracted through sonication with a dichloromethane:acetone:methanol mixture and reduced close to dryness; three fractions of the residue were separated through column chromatography; they comprised non polar, low polar and very polar organic compounds, respectively, and PCs were in the third one. Chemical analysis was performed by means of gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometric detection (GC-MSD), after treatment of solutions with methyl,tertzbutylsilyl-trifluoroacetamide (MTBSTFA) to form silyl derivatives of most PCs. The following substances were investigated: acetaminophenol, ibuprofen, ketoprofen, fenoprefen, naproxen, fenofibrate, diclofenac, acetylcysteine and sulfanilamide; p-hydroxybenzoic acid and salicylic acid; and parabens (methyl, ethyl and propyl). Except aspirin, ac...
Source: Chemosphere - Category: Chemistry Authors: Tags: Chemosphere Source Type: research