Presence and distribution of selected pharmaceutical compounds in water and surface sediment of the Golden Horn Estuary, Sea of Marmara, Turkey

Abstract

The presence and distribution of ketoprofen, fenoprofen, diclofenac ibuprofen, naproxen, gemfibrozil, clofibric acid, estrone, 17β-estradiol, 17α-ethinylestradiol, and carbamazepine were investigated in water and surface sediment of the Golden Horn Estuary (Sea of Marmara, Turkey). Water samples were collected seasonally from different depths in nine sampling stations. Surface sediment samples were taken at four stations once a year. Liquid–liquid and solid-phase extraction (SPE) methods were performed on water samples. Sediment samples were extracted by ultrasonic extraction and then SPE method was applied for clean-up. Subsequently, all samples were analyzed by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The most dominant compounds were found as gemfibrozil (<0.054-3.18 μg L−1), fenoprofen (<0.017-1.28 μg L−1), ibuprofen (<0.015-2.46 μg L−1) and 17α-ethinylestradiol (<0.010-1.49 μg L−1) in water samples. Only five of these eleven studied pharmaceuticals in surface sediments of the Golden Horn Estuary were able to identify. 17α-ethinylestradiol (319 ng g−1), fenoprofen (242 ng g−1), ibuprofen (215 ng g−1), gemfibrozil (124 ng g−1), carbamazepine (118 ng g−1) were detected in the surface sediments. Diclofenac, ketoprofen, naproxen, clofibric acid, estrone and 17β-estradiol were found below the method detection limits in surface sediments. Generally, the environmental concentrations of pharmaceuticals in water and surface sediment were much higher than those reported worldwide.