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Development and implementation of SafeMedWaste, a chemical denaturant for non-hazardous disposal of controlled medications
- Source :
- Scientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-13 (2021), Scientific Reports
- Publication Year :
- 2021
- Publisher :
- Nature Portfolio, 2021.
-
Abstract
- Substance use disorders are a significant public health issue. Options to dispose of controlled medications are limited, increasing the risk of diversion. Providing an alternative for disposal, a chemical denaturant, SafeMedWaste, was designed to destroy controlled substances irreversibly and safely be placed in non-hazardous landfills. Via HPLC–MS, four formulations of SafeMedWaste were tested with 34 different liquid controlled medications from DEA schedules I–V. Beta testing assessed the efficacy of SafeMedWaste in a clinical setting and on waste generated in a manufacturing setting. Furthermore, a formulation of SafeMedWaste was tested on solid controlled medications. All 34 of the liquid medications tested (e.g., amphetamine, diazepam, fentanyl, ketamine) were fully destroyed in SafeMedWaste within 2–24 h. Analysis of a beta test sample of SafeMedWaste containing fentanyl, midazolam, and morphine waste collected in a hospital showed full denaturation of these drugs in 24 h. Variants of SafeMedWaste were optimized to denature six different controlled substance waste samples from a manufacturing facility. In contrast to side-by-side studies with a charcoal disposal system using the same drugs, SafeMedWaste fully inactivated and destroyed the controlled substances in the waste streams. Another formulation of SafeMedWaste was tested on solid medications, which were fully denatured in 48–72 h. In conclusion, SafeMedWaste irreversibly denatures controlled medications that present a problem in our society.
- Subjects :
- Controlled substance
Multidisciplinary
Waste management
business.industry
Science
Controlled medications
Beta testing
Article
03 medical and health sciences
Chemistry
0302 clinical medicine
Hazardous waste
medicine
Midazolam
Medicine
030212 general & internal medicine
Substance use
business
Test sample
Analytical chemistry
030217 neurology & neurosurgery
medicine.drug
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 20452322
- Volume :
- 11
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Scientific Reports
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....f754f6df4e87cc88a883948811c3e409