TY - JOUR
T1 - Wastewater-Based Epidemiology to Monitor Synthetic Cathinones Use in Different European Countries
AU - González-Mariño, Iria
AU - Gracia-Lor, Emma
AU - Rousis, Nikolaos I.
AU - Castrignanò, Erika
AU - Thomas, Kevin V.
AU - Quintana, José Benito
AU - Kasprzyk-Hordern, Barbara
AU - Zuccato, Ettore
AU - Castiglioni, Sara
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 American Chemical Society.
PY - 2016/9/20
Y1 - 2016/9/20
N2 - Synthetic cathinones are among the most consumed new psychoactive substances (NPS), but their increasing number and interchangeable market make it difficult to estimate the real size of their consumption. Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) through the analysis of metabolic residues of these substances in urban wastewater can provide this information. This study applied WBE for the first time to investigate the presence of 17 synthetic cathinones in four European countries. A method based on solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry was developed, validated, and used to quantify the target analytes. Seven substances were found, with mephedrone and methcathinone being the most frequently detected and none of the analytes being found in Norway. Population-normalized loads were used to evaluate the pattern of use, which indicated a higher consumption in the U.K., followed by Spain and Italy, in line with the European prevalence data from population surveys. In the U.K., where an entire week was investigated, an increase of the loads was found during the weekend, indicating a preferential use in recreational contexts. This study demonstrated that WBE can be a useful additional tool to monitor the use of NPS in a population.
AB - Synthetic cathinones are among the most consumed new psychoactive substances (NPS), but their increasing number and interchangeable market make it difficult to estimate the real size of their consumption. Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) through the analysis of metabolic residues of these substances in urban wastewater can provide this information. This study applied WBE for the first time to investigate the presence of 17 synthetic cathinones in four European countries. A method based on solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry was developed, validated, and used to quantify the target analytes. Seven substances were found, with mephedrone and methcathinone being the most frequently detected and none of the analytes being found in Norway. Population-normalized loads were used to evaluate the pattern of use, which indicated a higher consumption in the U.K., followed by Spain and Italy, in line with the European prevalence data from population surveys. In the U.K., where an entire week was investigated, an increase of the loads was found during the weekend, indicating a preferential use in recreational contexts. This study demonstrated that WBE can be a useful additional tool to monitor the use of NPS in a population.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84988646666&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1021/acs.est.6b02644
DO - 10.1021/acs.est.6b02644
M3 - Article
C2 - 27491628
AN - SCOPUS:84988646666
SN - 0013-936X
VL - 50
SP - 10089
EP - 10096
JO - Environmental Science and Technology
JF - Environmental Science and Technology
IS - 18
ER -