RT Journal Article
T1 Source identification of amphetamine-like stimulants in Spanish wastewater through enantiomeric profiling
A1 Estévez-Danta, Andrea
A1 Montes Goyanes, Rosa
A1 Bijlsma, Lubertus
A1 Cela Torrijos, Rafael
A1 Celma, Alberto
A1 González Mariño, Iria
A1 Miró, Manuel
A1 Gutmann, Vanessa
A1 Pérez de San Román-Landa, Unai
A1 Prieto, Ailette
A1 Ventura, Mireia
A1 Rodil Rodríguez, María del Rosario
A1 Quintana Álvarez, José Benito
K1 Drug abuse
K1 Chiral drugs
K1 Enantiomers
K1 Sewage
K1 Wastewater-based epidemiology
K1 Prescription
AB Amphetamine (AMP), methamphetamine (MAMP) and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) occur in wastewater not only as a result of illicit consumption, but also, in some cases, from prescription drug use or by direct drug disposal into the sewage system. Enantiomeric profiling of these chiral drugs could give more insight into the origin of their occurrence. In this manuscript, a new analytical methodology for the enantiomeric analysis of amphetamine-like substances in wastewater has been developed. The method consists of a solid-phase extraction (SPE) followed by liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), which showed low quantification limits in the 2.4–5.5 ng L−1 range. The LC-MS/MS method was first applied to characterize a total of 38 solid street drug samples anonymously provided by consumers. The results of these analysis showed that AMP and MDMA trafficked into Spain are synthesized as racemate, while MAMP is exclusively produced as the S(+)-enantiomer. Then, the analytical method was employed to analyse urban wastewater samples collected from the wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) of five different cities in 2018 and 2019. Consumption estimated through normalized population loads in wastewater showed an increased pattern of AMP use in the Basque Country. Furthermore, the enantiomeric profiling of wastewater samples was contrasted to lisdexamfetamine (LIS) and selegiline (SEL) prescription figures, two pharmaceuticals which metabolize to S(+)-AMP, and to R(-)-AMP and R(-)-MAMP, respectively. From this analysis, and considering uncertainties derived from metabolism and adherence to treatment, it was concluded that LIS is a relevant source of AMP in those cases with low wastewater loads, i.e. up to a maximum of 60% of AMP detected in wastewater in some samples could originate from LIS prescription, while SEL does not represent a significant source of AMP nor MAMP. Finally, removal efficiencies could be evaluated for the WWTP (serving ca. 860,000 inhabitants) with higher AMP influent concentrations. The removal of AMP was satisfactory with rates higher than 99%, whereas MDMA showed an average removal of approximately 60%, accompanied by an enrichment of R(-)-MDMA
PB Elsevier
SN 0043-1354
YR 2021
FD 2021
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10347/27010
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10347/27010
LA eng
NO Estévez-Danta et al. Water Research 206 (2021) 117719
NO This study was supported by MINECO/MICINN/AEI projects (CTM2016-81935-REDT, CTM2017-84763-C3-2-R, CTM2017-84763-C3-1-R, CTM2017-84763-C3-3-R, PID2020-117686RB-C32, PID2020-117686RB-C31, PID2020-117686RB-C33), Galician Council of Culture, Education and Universities (ED481D-2017/003, ED431C-2017/36, ED481A-2020/258 and ED431C 2021/06), cofounded by FEDER/ERDF. UJI authors acknowledge the financial support of Generalitat Valenciana (Excellence Research Group, Prometeo 2019/040). Alberto Celma acknowledges the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness for his predoctoral Grant (BES-2016-076914). Vanessa Gutmann acknowledges the support of the ERASMUS+ program.
DS Minerva
RD 24 abr 2026