Development of a macroporous ceramic passive sampler for the monitoring of cytostatic drugs in water

- A Macroporous Ceramic Passive Sampler has been designed for monitoring cytostatic compounds in water.
- Water stability affects uptake, and sampling rate was calculated only for 5 out of 16 cytostatics.
- Similar performance was observed between Passive Sampler and grab sampling in WWTP effluents.
- Cytostatics were detected in WWTP effluents wastewaters at low levels.

The aim of this study was to develop and calibrate a macroporous ceramic passive sampler (MCPS) for the monitoring of anticancer drugs in wastewater. This system was designed by the Spanish Research Council (CSIC) and consists in a porous ceramic tube to allow a high diffusion of contaminants. The MCPS has been calibrated for 16 cytostatic drugs over time periods up to 9 d in spiked water under controlled laboratory conditions. Optimal uptake was accomplished for 7 compounds, namely ifosfamide, cyclophosphamide, capecitabine, prednisone, megestrol, cyproterone and mycophenolic acid, whereas cytarabine was not adsorbed in the receiving phase and the rest were hydrolyzed over the deployment period. The sampling rate for these 7 compounds was between 0.825 and 3.350 mL day−1 and the diffusion coefficients varied from 1.01E-07 to 4.12E-07 cm2 s−1. To prove the applicability of the MCPSs, samplers (n = 3) were deployed in influent and effluent waters of a WWTP for a period of 6 d and results were compared to grab sampling and extraction with Solid Phase Extraction (SPE). In influent waters, MCPS were clogged due to the high amount of suspended solids in these waters. In effluents, MCPS detected cyclophosphamide and mycophenolic acid at concentrations of 19 ± 3 and 136 ± 28 ng L−1 with a good agreement with the levels obtained by grab sampling. The study discusses the use and performance of the MCPS for the monitoring of stable cytostatic compounds in a complex matrix such as wastewater.

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