Abstract
PPCPs are found almost everywhere in the environment especially at an alarming rate and at very low concentration in the aquatic systems. Many methods—including pressurized hot water extraction (PHWE), pressurized liquid extraction (PLE), ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE), and micro-assisted extraction (MAE)—have been employed for their extraction from both surface waters and biota. Solid-phase extraction (SPE) proved to be the best extraction method for these polar, non-volatile, and thermally unstable compounds in water. However, ultrasonic extraction works better for their isolation from sediment because it is cheap and consumes less solvent, even though SPE is preferred as a clean-up method for sediment samples. PPCPs are in groups of—acidic (e.g., diclofenac, ibuprofen, naproxen), neutral (e.g., caffeine, carbamazepine, fluoxetine), and basic pharmaceuticals, as well as antibiotics and estrogens amongst others. PPCPs which are present in trace levels (ng/L) are more often determined by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolent (HPLC-UV). Of these, LC-MS and LC-MS-MS are mostly employed for the analysis of this class of compounds, though not without a draw-back of matrix effect. GC-MS and GC-MS-MS are considered as alternative cost-effective methods that can also give better results after derivatization.
Highlights
Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are over the counter therapeutic and veterinary drugs, ranging from analgesics and antibiotics to contraceptives and lipid regulators in addition to active ingredients in soaps, detergents, musk, bleaches, dyes, deodorants, shampoos, perfumes and hair cream, and skin and dental care products
Continuous use of PPCPs by both humans and animals on daily basis has hugely contributed to their persistence in the aquatic environment
There is no guideline for PPCPs, the rate at which they are taken up by humans and animals in the environment is risky
Summary
Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are over the counter therapeutic and veterinary drugs, ranging from analgesics and antibiotics to contraceptives and lipid regulators in addition to active ingredients in soaps, detergents, musk, bleaches, dyes, deodorants, shampoos, perfumes and hair cream, and skin and dental care products. Some likely effects of PPCPs on living organisms have been reported, they include: increased feminization and masculinization of fish populations [5,32], nervous system damage, cancer, disruption of immune system, and the reproductive disorders [33]. They have been enlisted as “emerging contaminants” [11,26] and as endocrine disruptors (EDCs) because they are capable of mimicking or altering various vertebrate endocrine systems pathways [34,35,36]. It has been the most frequently detected pharmaceutical residues in water bodies [68], terrestrial environment [62], and WWTPs, in which little or no removal from wastewater has been widely reported, making it very important [68]
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