Search

Tamoxifen and 5-fluorouracil are widely used in cancer therapy. They are highly toxic (teratogenic, mutagenic, etc.), as are most of the anticancer drugs. Two methods were set up to analyse these drugs in wastewaters to evaluate the potential for environmental contamination by cytostatic agents. Liquid–liquid extraction followed by purification on OASIS® MCX cartridge and gas chromatography with mass spectrometry detection (GC-MS) was used for the analysis of tamoxifen. 5-Fluorouracil was extracted with an ENV+  (Isolute) cartridge (solid-phase extraction), derivatized with pentafluorobenzyl bromide (PFBBr) and detected by GC-MS. Both methods showed good recoveries (>70%), repeatability (RSD [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is the first thorough method optimisation for accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from chemically dried compost. For PCBs, optimised solvent composition, temperature, pressure, number of static cycles, duration, and flush volume were as follows: toluene/acetone 1  :  3 (v/v), 120°C, 2000  psi, 3  ×  5  min, and 50%, respectively. Limits of quantification and method precision were between 0.16 and 2.46  µg  kg -1 dw and 6–17% respectively for individual PCBs. Absolute recoveries of isotope-labelled extraction standards used for each of the analytes ranged from 65 to 105% and relative recoveries were between 85 and 99%. The method proofed to be robust and was successfully applied to different compost samples. The optimisation of PAHs extraction was performed and resulted in the following conditions: solvent: hexane/acetone 1/3 (v:v), temperature: 140°C, pressure: 1500  psi, extraction time: 3  ×  5  min, and 50% flush volume. Limits of detection and method precision for individual PAHs were between 1.1 and 37.2  µg  kg -1   dw and 12–34% respectively. Absolute and relative recoveries ranged from 24 to 68% and from 85 to 99%, respectively. Optimal extraction conditions for PAHs were more difficult to determine due to the inhomogeneous distribution of PAHs in samples. However, the method appeared to be feasible and suggestions for further improvements are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Five acidic drugs (clofibric acid, ibuprofen, ketoprofen, mefenamic acid and diclofenac) were chosen in order to determine their behavior in a sewage treatment plant (STP). An analytical method using solid phase extraction (SPE) and a gas chromatograph coupled with a mass spectrometer (GC-MS) was used. The results show that four pharmaceuticals (clofibric acid, ketoprofen, mefenamic acid and diclofenac) are not well removed by treatment in Swiss STPs. Maximum concentration in the effluent was determined for mefenamic acid up to 1.0 μg/L. This component seems to be relevant in Swiss STPs effluents and we can expect its presence in surface waters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The heat shock protein Hsp70 has been shown to be a promising biomarker in aquatic and terrestrial organisms. However, its analysis in the soil insect Folsomia candida (Collembola) poses many problems as the protein is particularly unstable in this species. Western blotting has shown that the principal degradation fragment has a size of 48 kDa. We have developed a Western blot method that avoids the degradation of Hsp70 and was successful in detecting the protein in the springtail F. candida after a heat shock (12, 18 and 24 h at 32°C). In the second part of the study the organisms were exposed to artificial compressed soil contaminated with the dinitrophenol dinoseb (10, 15 and 20 µg g[sup -1] dry weight [DW]). Hsp70 was analysed in pooled samples (40 to 150 collembola according to age) after 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11 and 14 days. The only significant induction was observed after 5 days at 20 µg g[sup -1] DW of dinoseb. The induction patterns over time were dissimilar for the different concentrations and a relatively high variability between the replicates was observed. Our results show that we must be cautious when interpreting biomarker results, especially those for Hsp70. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]