Emerging Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products In Our Water System
Mentor 1
Todd Miller
Location
Union Wisconsin Room
Start Date
24-4-2015 10:30 AM
End Date
24-4-2015 11:45 AM
Description
The purity and quality of our water source is essential to life of almost all organisms. With the widespread usage of pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs), chemicals in PPCPs are now being discovered in our rivers, lakes and ground water. Pollutants from daily modern life have managed to find their way into the environment through sewage effluents, runoffs, and leakages, developing negative effects on aquatic organisms. Chemicals have been found to cause acute and chronic toxicity in aquatic organisms like algae, crustaceans, and fish. In order to determine what chemicals had entered our water system, we collected water samples and assayed them for presence of toxins and synthetic chemicals. We collected samples in six different sites along the Milwaukee River. The water samples were then frozen, so they can be lyophilized. Samples were then sonicated, centrifuged, and dried, then subjected to Liquid Chromatography – Mass Spectrometry (LCMS) for analysis. The vials were placed in the High Pressure Liquid Chromatograph (HPLC), allowing the analytes to react with a high absorbent material (silica) in order to create differential flow rates for each particular analyte. The sample was then pumped into the Mass Spectrometer where the sample was compared to a standard preparation and the concentration was determined. The six samples were compared to 57 different compounds in the standard preparations and we were able to identify 13 different drug compounds in the Milwaukee River. We found 4 antibiotics, 3 heart disease, 3 antibacterial, 1 anticonvulsant, and 2 metabolic drugs. Five of these drugs were found in all six sites. Out of these 5 drugs, caffeine was most noticeable. The concentration of caffeine throughout the six sites was between 0.188 to 0.418 Daltons. We were able to successfully collect and quantify our samples and data. This is proof that the drugs and chemicals that we use extensively are assimilating into aquatic ecosystems. The drugs found will need to be validated, but the drugs identified provide a good starting point for the next step in discovering the effects of these drugs in our water system.
Emerging Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products In Our Water System
Union Wisconsin Room
The purity and quality of our water source is essential to life of almost all organisms. With the widespread usage of pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs), chemicals in PPCPs are now being discovered in our rivers, lakes and ground water. Pollutants from daily modern life have managed to find their way into the environment through sewage effluents, runoffs, and leakages, developing negative effects on aquatic organisms. Chemicals have been found to cause acute and chronic toxicity in aquatic organisms like algae, crustaceans, and fish. In order to determine what chemicals had entered our water system, we collected water samples and assayed them for presence of toxins and synthetic chemicals. We collected samples in six different sites along the Milwaukee River. The water samples were then frozen, so they can be lyophilized. Samples were then sonicated, centrifuged, and dried, then subjected to Liquid Chromatography – Mass Spectrometry (LCMS) for analysis. The vials were placed in the High Pressure Liquid Chromatograph (HPLC), allowing the analytes to react with a high absorbent material (silica) in order to create differential flow rates for each particular analyte. The sample was then pumped into the Mass Spectrometer where the sample was compared to a standard preparation and the concentration was determined. The six samples were compared to 57 different compounds in the standard preparations and we were able to identify 13 different drug compounds in the Milwaukee River. We found 4 antibiotics, 3 heart disease, 3 antibacterial, 1 anticonvulsant, and 2 metabolic drugs. Five of these drugs were found in all six sites. Out of these 5 drugs, caffeine was most noticeable. The concentration of caffeine throughout the six sites was between 0.188 to 0.418 Daltons. We were able to successfully collect and quantify our samples and data. This is proof that the drugs and chemicals that we use extensively are assimilating into aquatic ecosystems. The drugs found will need to be validated, but the drugs identified provide a good starting point for the next step in discovering the effects of these drugs in our water system.
