Illicit Drugs in the Environment Occurrence, Analysis, and Fate using Mass Spectrometry

This book introduces a novel application of mass spectrometry, namely the measure of illicit drugs in waste and surface water. The book also has environmental implications, as illicit drugs are a newly identified class of contaminants of concern for the aquatic ecosystem. The measurement of drug residues excreted in wastewater by consumers is also a novel and promising tool to estimate drug consumption in communities. The goal of the book therefore is to provide information on the mass spectrometry detection of illicit drugs in the environment, to address the eco-toxicological implications and to present and discuss this novel approach to estimate drug consumption by wastewater analysis. This book provides an updated and critical overview of the analytical techniques which have been used to measure illicit drugs in environmental media. The methods used for their analysis are mainly based on solid phase extraction (SPE) and high-pressure liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). After consumption illicit drugs are excreted as the parent compound and/or active metabolites in urine and feces, and enter the sewage networks. The amounts of residues conveyed to the treatment plant reflect the amount collectively excreted in urine by the consumers. Analysis at the sewage treatment plant can therefore provide an evidence-based estimation of drugs consumption in the population served by the plant. Since sewage plants can be not sufficiently efficient in removing or degrade these compounds, they can be discharged in the receiving surface water. As most of the residues of the drugs persisting in the environment have potent pharmacological activities, their presence in the aquatic environment is of concern for the ecosystem. This book will be therefore of interest not only for chemists but also for biologists, toxicologists and eco-toxicologists.

Sara Castiglioni obtained for PhD from the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research in Milan, Italy, for her work on a project entitled Occurrence, behaviour and effects of pharmaceuticals for human and veterinary use in aquatic ecosystems. She is author of twenty publications that deal with drugs in the environment. Ettore Zuccato obtained his postdoctoral degree in human nutrition in 1999 from Milan Medical School and, in 2005, became Head of the Laboratory of Food Toxicology. His current research areas include food safety, the study of dietary chemical contaminants, and other emerging issues in food toxicology. Dr. Roberto Fanelli serves as Head of the Environmental Health Sciences Department at the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research, where he employs analytical methods based on mass spectrometry to identify and measure biomarkers in toxicology and environmental pollutants, including therapeutic and illicit drugs.