Systematic Evaluation of the In-Sample Stability of Selected Pharmaceuticals, Illicit Drugs, and Their Metabolites in Wastewater
Xialu Lin, Phil M. Choi, Jack Thompson, Timothy Reeks, Rory Verhagen, Benjamin J. Tscharke, Elissa O’Malley, Katja M. Shimko, Xiong Guo, Kevin V. Thomas, Jake O’Brien
Abstract
The in-sample stability of selected pharmaceuticals, illicit drugs, and their metabolites in wastewater was assessed under six different conditions—untreated, addition of hydrochloric acid or sodium metabisulfite solution, combined with or without sterile filtration, and at four representative temperatures, at 35 °C for up to 28 days, 22 °C for 56 days, and 4 °C and −20 °C for 196 days, or freeze/thaw cycles for 24 weeks. Paracetamol, 6-monoacetylmorphine, morphine, and cocaine were poorly stable in untreated wastewater—e.g., with 50% transformation within 1.2–8.1 days at 22 °C, and acidification reduced their in-sample transformations. Acesulfame, carbamazepine, cotinine, methamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA), ketamine, norfentanyl, 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-ethylamphetamine (MDEA), and norbuprenorphine were highly or moderately stable over the observed period, even in untreated wastewater. Fitting of pseudo-first-order kinetics and the Arrhenius equation was used to develop a multistage transformation estimation model combined with an interactive tool to evaluate possible transformation scenarios of selected biomarkers for the processes from sampling to preanalysis. However, as the wastewater composition can vary between sites and over time, the variability of in-sample stability requires further exploration.