Enantiomeric Profiling of Chiral Drugs in Wastewater and Receiving Waters
Environmental Science & Technology December 29, 2011 Barbara Kasprzyk‐hordern, David R. Baker 145 citations
Chiral drugs, such as amphetamines, ephedrines, venlafaxine, and atenolol, break down differently depending on their mirror-image forms during wastewater treatment and in rivers. Monitoring at seven wastewater treatment plants (using activated sludge or trickling filters) and six river sites over nine months showed that the extent of this enantiomer-specific fate varied by drug, treatment method, and season. Atenolol and MDMA showed high stereoselectivity, activated sludge produced more stereoselectivity than trickling filters, and stereoselectivity in the environment was higher in spring and summer.