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Stereoisomeric profiling of pharmaceuticals ibuprofen and iopromide in wastewater and river water, China

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Abstract

Stereoisomeric compositions can provide insights into sources, fate, and ecological risks of contaminants in the environment. In this study, stereoisomeric profiles of ibuprofen and iopromide were investigated in wastewater and receiving surface water of the Pearl River Delta, south China. The enantiomeric fraction (EF) of ibuprofen was 0.108–0.188 and 0.480, whereas the isomer ratio (IR) of iopromide was 1.426–1.673 and 1.737–1.898 in the influent and final effluent, respectively, suggesting stereoselective degradation occurred for both pharmaceuticals during wastewater treatment. Ibuprofen showed enantioselective degradation in the anaerobic, anoxic, and aerobic conditions, whereas iopromide displayed isomer-selective degradation only under the aerobic condition. In the river waters, the EF of ibuprofen was 0.130–0.327 and the IR of iopromide was 1.500–2.531. The results suggested that pharmaceuticals in the mainstream Pearl River were mainly from discharge of treated wastewater, whereas in the tributary rivers and urban canals, direct discharge of untreated wastewater represented a significant contribution. The IR of iopromide can be an applicable and efficient tracer for wastewater discharge in the environment.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the NSFC program (No. 41172319) and the Research Program of China (No 2009CB421604). We thank Mr. He Jiazhuo of the SKLOG for his help in LC–MS/MS. The personnel of the studied STP are thanked for their help with sampling. This is contribution from GIGCAS No 1692.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510640, China

    Zhifang Wang, Qiuxin Huang, Yiyi Yu, Chunwei Wang, Weihui Ou & **anzhi Peng

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Bei**g, 100049, China

    Zhifang Wang, Qiuxin Huang, Yiyi Yu, Chunwei Wang & Weihui Ou

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  1. Zhifang Wang
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  2. Qiuxin Huang
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Correspondence to **anzhi Peng.

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Wang, Z., Huang, Q., Yu, Y. et al. Stereoisomeric profiling of pharmaceuticals ibuprofen and iopromide in wastewater and river water, China. Environ Geochem Health 35, 683–691 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-013-9551-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-013-9551-x

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