Elisabete Ferreira

Direct photolysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in drinking water sources

The widely used low pressure lamps were tested in terms of their efficiency to degrade polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons listed as priority pollutants by the European Water Framework Directive and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in water matrices with very different compositions (laboratory grade water, groundwater, and surface water). Using a UV fluence of 1500 mJ/cm(2), anthracene and benzo(a)pyrene were efficiently degraded, with much higher percent removals obtained when present in groundwater (83-93%) compared to surface water (36-48%). The removal percentages obtained for fluoranthene were lower and ranged from 13 to 54% in the different water matrices tested. Several parameters that influence the direct photolysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were determined and their photolysis by-products were identified by mass spectrometry. The formation of photolysis by-products was found to be highly dependent on the source waters tested.

Distribution of Cryptosporidium species and subtypes in water samples in Portugal: a preliminary study.

MARGARIDA ALVES, ANA M. RIBEIRO, CÉLIA NETO, ELISABETE FERREIRA, MARIA J. BENOLIEL, FRANCISCO ANTUNES and OLGA MATOS Unidade de Protozoários Oportunistas/VIH e Outras Protozooses, UPMM, Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, Rua da Junqueira, n. 96, 1349-008 Lisboa, Portugal, and Laboratório Central da EPAL, Unidade de Análises, Equipa de Microbiologia, Lisboa, Portugal, and Clı́nica Universitária de Doenças Infecciosas, Faculdade de Medicina (Hospital de Santa Maria), Lisboa, Portugal

Análise de fármacos em águas por SPE-UPLC-ESI-MS/MS

A method was developed for the analysis of 31 pharmaceutical compounds in Lisbons drinking water system, using solid-phase extraction (SPE) and ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). The method was validated through estimation of the linearity range, method detection and quantification limits, matrix effects, precision and accuracy. The method detection and quantification limit ranges were 0.009-10 and 0.03-33 ng/L, respectively. Analytes were quantified in water samples collected from the EPAL (Empresa Portuguesa das Aguas Livres S.A.) supply system. Carbamazepine, atenolol, sulfadiazine, sulfamethazine, sulfapyridine, sulfamethoxazole, acetaminophen, caffeine and erythromycin were quantified in the analysed samples.