Ewa Adamek

Effects of the presence of sulfonamides in the environment and their influence on human health

World production and consumption of pharmaceuticals has been steadily increasing. Anti-infectives have been particularly important in modern therapy of microbial infection. Sulfonamides have been widely used for a long time as anti-infectives and are still widely prescribed today. This review presents the most common types of sulfonamides used in healthcare and veterinary medicine and discusses the problems connected with their presence in the biosphere. Based on the analysis of over 160 papers, it was found that small amounts of sulfonamides present in the environment were mainly derived from agricultural activities. These drugs have caused changes in the population of microbes that could be potentially hazardous to human health. This human health hazard could have a global range, and administrative activities have been ineffective in risk reduction.

Assessment of the biodegradability of selected sulfa drugs in two polluted rivers in Poland: Effects of seasonal variations, accidental contamination, turbidity and salinity

The aim of our study was to assess the aerobic biodegradation of four selected sulfonamides (sulfanilamide, sulfamethoxazole, sulfadiazine and sulfathiazole) using water samples drawn from highly polluted rivers. Additionally, we aimed to identify the factors that have a significant effect on the process efficiency. The 19 water samples were collected from Brynica and Czarna Przemsza rivers (in Poland) at the same location at approximately monthly intervals. A characteristic feature of the results is the presence of significant differences between the rates of sulfonamides biodegradation in particular samples. The sulfonamide most resistant to biodegradation was sulfamethoxazole, whereas sulfathiazole was most biodegradable. Seasonal variations and related microbial population changes had the most significant effects on sulfonamides biodegradation, e.g., the studied process was highly inhibited during wintertime. A decrease in the biodegradation rate in the river water could be caused by an accidental water pollution by industrial wastewater with heavy metals, an increase in salinity and a decrease in pH, and turbidity.

Use of Photocatalytic Reactions to Visualize Drugs in TLC

The numerous ways of visualization of organic substances separated by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) have been described in detail in the literature [1–7]. Despite of the recognition and use of various visualizing agents there is still a need for further research and testing of simple and useful methods for detection of organic compounds. Although the visualization of drugs separated on thin layers has been the subject of numerous studies [1, 8–12], use of photochemical processes in the presence of a catalyst for detection of drugs on TLC plates has not yet been used.

The Comparison of Photocatalytic Degradation and Decolorization Processes of Dyeing Effluents

Treatment of dye effluents resulting from the industrial scale dyeing of cotton, polyacrylic fibres, leather, and flax fabrics by photocatalytic methods was investigated. Photocatalytic processes were initiated by UV-a light ( 366 nm) and were conducted in the presence of TiO2, TiO2/FeCl3, or FeCl3 as photocatalysts. It was found that the photocatalytic process carried out with TiO2 and TiO2/FeCl3 was the most effective method for decolorization of textile dyeing effluents and degradation of dyes, except for effluents containing very high concentrations of stable azo dyes. During the photocatalytic degradation of anionic dyes, a mixture of TiO2/FeCl3 was more effective, while in the case of cationic dyes, more suitable seems to be TiO2 alone.

The Study on the Photocatalytic Degradation of Nicotine

Nicotine belongs to a group of compounds being specific toxic anthropogenic contaminants. Highly carcinogenic nitrozamines are one of the possible products of photocatalytic oxidation of nicotine. The main objective of the present study was to investigate the photocatalytic degradation of nicotine and the intentification of 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone and N-nitroso-nornicotine among their degradation products.The experiment was carried out in an aqueous medium, in the presence of TiO 2 suspension (0.4 g/l). Samples containing nicotine (0.1 mmol/l) or nicotine and NO 2 - ions were irradiated with UVa radiation ( λmax =366 nm). Photocatalytic degradation products were identified by using LC-MS/MS method. It was found that during UVa-irradiation of samples with TiO 2 the decomposition of nicotine was observed. It can be noted that under investigated conditions the formation of nitrosamines was not observed in any samples.