@article{88fd9818d04b4d3fbfe1acbe1ce005d8,
title = "Enantiomeric profiling of chiral illicit drugs in a pan-European study",
abstract = "The aim of this paper is to present the first study on spatial and temporal variation in the enantiomeric profile of chiral drugs in eight European cities. Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) and enantioselective analysis were combined to evaluate trends in illicit drug use in the context of their consumption vs direct disposal as well as their synthetic production routes. Spatial variations in amphetamine loads were observed with higher use in Northern European cities. Enantioselective analysis showed a general enrichment of amphetamine with the R-(−)-enantiomer in wastewater indicating its abuse. High loads of racemic methamphetamine were detected in Oslo (EF = 0.49 ± 0.02). This is in contrast to other European cities where S-(+)-methamphetamine was the predominant enantiomer. This indicates different methods of methamphetamine synthesis and/or trafficking routes in Oslo, compared with the other cities tested. An enrichment of MDMA with the R-(−)-enantiomer was observed in European wastewaters indicating MDMA consumption rather than disposal of unused drug. MDA's chiral signature indicated its enrichment with the S-(+)-enantiomer, which confirms its origin from MDMA metabolism in humans. HMMA was also detected at quantifiable concentrations in wastewater and was found to be a suitable biomarker for MDMA consumption. Mephedrone was only detected in wastewater from the United Kingdom with population-normalised loads up to 47.7 mg 1000 people−1 day−1. The enrichment of mephedrone in the R-(+)-enantiomer in wastewater suggests stereoselective metabolism in humans, hence consumption, rather than direct disposal of the drug. The investigation of drug precursors, such as ephedrine, showed that their presence was reasonably ascribed to their medical use.",
keywords = "Chiral drugs, Enantioselective analysis, Illicit drugs, Wastewater-based epidemiology",
author = "Erika Castrignan{\`o} and Zhugen Yang and Richard Bade and Baz-Lomba, {Jose A.} and Sara Castiglioni and Ana Causanilles and Adrian Covaci and Emma Gracia-Lor and Felix Hernandez and Juliet Kinyua and McCall, {Ann Kathrin} and {van Nuijs}, {Alexander L.N.} and Christoph Ort and Pl{\'o}sz, {Benedek G.} and Pedram Ramin and Rousis, {Nikolaos I.} and Yeonsuk Ryu and Thomas, {Kevin V.} and {de Voogt}, Pim and Ettore Zuccato and Barbara Kasprzyk-Hordern",
note = "Funding Information: This work was supported by the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme for Research, Technological Development and Demonstration [grant agreement 317205 , the SEWPROF MC ITN project, {\textquoteleft}A new paradigm in drug use and human health risk assessment: Sewage profiling at the community level{\textquoteright}]. Wastewater samples were provided by local WWTPs to the University of Bath (United Kingdom) by: Wessex Water, Norwegian Institute for Water Research (Norway), Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Switzerland), Technical University of Denmark (Denmark), Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research (Italy), University of Antwerp (Belgium), KWR Watercycle Research Institute (The Netherlands), University Jaume I (Spain). Erika Castrignan{\`o} and Barbara Kasprzyk-Hordern planned and designed the study. Erika Castrignan{\`o}, Zhugen Yang, Richard Bade, J. Baz-Lomba, Sara Castiglioni, Ana Causanilles, Adrian Covaci, Emma Gracia-Lor, Felix Hernandez, Juliet Kinyua, Ann-Kathrin McCall, Alexander L. N. van Nuijs, Christoph Ort, Benedek G. Pl{\'o}sz, Pedram Ramin, Nikolaos I. Rousis, Yeonsuk Ryu, Kevin V Thomas, Pim de Voogt, Ettore Zuccato and Barbara Kasprzyk-Hordern organised the collection of the wastewater samples. Erika Castrignan{\`o} prepared and analysed the samples, interpreted the results. Erika Castrignan{\`o} and Barbara Kasprzyk-Hordern drafted the manuscript, which was critically revised by all co-authors. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2017",
year = "2018",
month = mar,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1016/j.watres.2017.11.051",
language = "English",
volume = "130",
pages = "151--160",
journal = "WATER RESEARCH",
issn = "0043-1354",
publisher = "Elsevier Limited",
}