Abstract
Environmental contamination from pharmaceuticals has received increased attention from researchers in the past 20 years. As such, numerous lab-scale studies have sought to characterize the effects of these contaminants on various targets, as well as determine improved removal methods. Many studies have used lab-scale bioreactors to investigate pharmaceutical effects on wastewater bacteria, as wastewater treatment plants often act as reservoirs for pharmaceuticals. However, few—if any—of these studies report the specific lab materials used during testing, such as tubing or pipette tip type. In this study, the pharmaceuticals erythromycin, diclofenac, and gemfibrozil were exposed to different micropipette tips, syringe filters, and tubing types, and losses over time were evaluated. Losses to tubing and syringe filters were particularly significant and neared 100%, depending on the pharmaceutical compound and length of exposure time. Results discussed herein indicate that pharmaceutical sorption to various lab supplies results in decreases to both dosed and quantified pharmaceutical concentrations. Studies that fail to consider this source of loss may therefore draw inaccurate conclusions about pharmaceutical effects or removal efficiencies.
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Data Availability
The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Funding
This research is supported by Montana INBRE, which is funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences division of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number P20GM103474. Special thanks also to staff at the Mass Spectrometry Facility at Montana State University (MSU) for training and assistance. Funding for the Proteomics, Metabolomics and Mass Spectrometry Facility used in this publication was made possible in part by the MJ Murdock Charitable Trust, the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Numbers P20GM103474 and S10OD28650, and the MSU Office of Research, Economic Development and Graduate Education. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
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Study conceptualization and methodology: Kylie B. Bodle; Formal analysis and investigation: Kylie B. Bodle, Madeline R. Pernat; Writing – original draft preparation: Kylie B. Bodle; Writing – review and editing: Catherine M. Kirkland, Madeline R. Pernat, Kylie B. Bodle; Funding acquisition, resources, and supervision: Catherine M. Kirkland.
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Bodle, K.B., Pernat, M.R. & Kirkland, C.M. Pharmaceutical Sorption to Lab Materials May Overestimate Rates of Removal in Lab-Scale Bioreactors. Water Air Soil Pollut 233, 505 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-022-05974-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-022-05974-2