Experimental Estimation of 44 Pharmaceutical Polar Organic Chemical Integrative Sampler Sampling Rates in an...

Area of Science:

• Environmental Chemistry
• Analytical Chemistry
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Pharmaceuticals are emerging contaminants in aquatic environments.
• Accurate monitoring requires reliable sampling methods for diverse chemical properties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine laboratory sampling rates for 44 pharmaceuticals using polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS).
• To investigate the influence of water flow velocity on POCIS sampling rates for pharmaceuticals with varying polarity (log KOW -0.6 to 5.4).

Main Methods:

• Laboratory calibration of POCIS in a tank and artificial river at 16.0 ± 1.5 °C.
• Exposure to tap water spiked with 44 pharmaceuticals at 0.3 µg/L.
• Testing at four water flow velocities: 0, 2-3, 6-7, and 20 cm/s.

Main Results:

• Determined 12 new and confirmed 26 literature-based sampling rates for pharmaceuticals.
• Observed increased sampling rates with higher water flow velocities.
• Failed to determine sampling rates for 6 pharmaceuticals due to nonlinearity or poor accumulation.

Conclusions:

• Water flow velocity significantly affects POCIS sampling rates for pharmaceuticals.
• The observed trend is linked to reduced boundary layer thickness at the POCIS membrane surface.
• Findings improve the accuracy of pharmaceutical environmental monitoring using POCIS.