Targeted LC-MS/MS method for quantifying respiratory pharmaceuticals in wastewater.

ABSTRACT: Background: Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) enables the population-level surveillance of molecular and chemical targets. Despite the high prevalence of respiratory diseases, there is a lack of sensitive analytical methods for detecting associated medications in complex wastewater matrices. Methods: We developed and validated a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS)/MS method using multiple reaction monitoring for 10 common respiratory pharmaceuticals. The workflow integrated freeze-drying for preconcentration, online solid-phase extraction for cleanup, and stable isotope-labeled internal standards (SILs) to compensate for matrix effects. Results: Detection and quantification limits ranged from 0.7 to 19 ng L^-1 and 3 to 125 ng L^-1, res

SUBMITTER: Gasparetto RL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12681241 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature