Photophysical and photochemical properties of the pharmaceutical compound salbutamol in aqueous solutions

Salbutamol is a potent β2-adrenergic receptor agonist widely used in the treatment of bronchial asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. An increasing number of studies have detected salbutamol in natural water systems worldwide. Studies have shown that sunlight degrades salbutamol resulting in the formation of products; some showing higher toxicity to bacteria Vibrio fischeri than the parent compound. In this contribution, steady-state absorption and emission techniques, high-performance liquid chromatography, and transient absorption spectroscopy are used to investigate the photochemistry of salbutamol in aqueous buffer solutions at controlled pH values. Ground- and excited-state calculations that include solvent effects are performed to guide the interpretation of the experimental results. Salbutamol is sensitive to UVB light absorption in the pH range from 3 to 12, forming products that absorb light at longer wavelengths than the parent compound. Quantum yields of degradation reveal that the deprotonated species is 10-fold more photo-active than the protonated species. In line with this result, the fluorescence quantum yield of the protonated species is more than an order of magnitude higher than that of the deprotonated species. Transient absorption spectroscopy shows that population of the triplet state occurs with a rate constant of 7.1 × 108 s−1 in the protonated species, while a rate constant of 1.7 × 1010 s−1 is measured for the deprotonated species. While degradation of the deprotonated species is not affected by the presence of molecular oxygen, a twofold increase in the photodegradation yield of the protonated species in air-saturated conditions is observed.

Research highlights
► Salbutamol is sensitive to UVB light absorption in aqueous buffer solutions.
► Some of the products absorb at longer wavelengths than the parent compound.
► The deprotonated species is 10-fold more photo-reactive than the protonated species.
► The photodegradation of the protonated species is increased in the presence of O2.
► Oxidation products might contribute to the already polluted natural water systems.