Chemical Imaging of Pharmaceuticals in Biofilms for Wastewater Treatment Using Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry.

ABSTRACT: The occurrence of pharmaceuticals in the aquatic environment is a global water quality challenge for several reasons, such as deleterious effects on ecological and human health, antibiotic resistance development, and endocrine-disrupting effects on aquatic organisms. To optimize their removal from the water cycle, understanding the processes during biological wastewater treatment is crucial. Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry imaging was successfully applied to investigate and analyze the distribution of pharmaceuticals as well as endogenous molecules in the complex biological matrix of biofilms for wastewater treatment. Several compounds and their localization were identified in the biofilm section, including citalopram, ketoconazole, ketoconazole transformation products, and

SUBMITTER: Burzio C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10193524 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature