Oxypurinol – A novel marker for wastewater contamination of the aquatic environment

• A new LC-MS/MS-method was developed to study oxypurinol in aqueous matrices.
• Elevated concentrations and biological persistence of oxypurinol in WWTPs.
• Oxypurinol can also be detected in groundwater and drinking water.
• Results suggest that oxypurinol can be used as wastewater marker.

The anti-gout agent allopurinol is one of the most prescribed pharmaceuticals in Germany and is widely metabolized into oxypurinol (80%) as well as the corresponding riboside conjugates (10%) within the human body. To investigate the occurrence of allopurinol and oxypurinol in the urban water cycle an analytical method was developed based on solid phase extraction (SPE) and subsequent liquid chromatography electrospray-ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).In raw wastewater concentration levels of oxypurinol ranged up to 26.6 μg L−1, whereas allopurinol was not detected at all. In wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents, concentrations of allopurinol were

Figure optionsDownload high-quality image (164 K)Download as PowerPoint slide