Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 19, 2026

A Whole Cell Bioreporter Approach to Assess Transport and Bioavailability of Organic Contaminants in Water Unsaturated Systems
Published on: December 24, 2014
Transformation of Illicit Drugs and Pharmaceuticals in Sewer Sediments
Jiaying Li1, Jianfa Gao2,3, Phong K Thai2
1Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia.
Abstract:
In-sewer stability of human excreted biomarkers is a critical factor of wastewater-based epidemiology in back-estimating illicit drug and pharmaceutical use in the community. Biomarker stability has been investigated in sewers with the presence of biofilms, but the understanding in sewer sediments is still lacking. This study for the first time employed a laboratory sediment reactor to measure 18 illicit drug and pharmaceutical biomarkers under gravity sewer environments with the presence of sediments. Biomarkers exhibited various stability patterns due to transformation processes occurring in the bulk wastewater and sediments. The attenuation of a biomarker by sediments is driven by complex processes involving biodegradation, diffusion, and sorption, which is directly proportional to the ratio of sediment surface area against wastewater volume. The sediment-driven transformation coefficients of biomarkers are higher than the accordingly biofilm-mediated rates because of stronger microbial activities in sediments. Additionally, the stability of most biomarkers was insensitive to the natural pH variation in sewers, except for a few compounds (e.g., methadone, ketamine, and paracetamol) susceptible to pH changes. In general, this study delineates the stability data of various biomarkers in gravity sewers with sediments, which are novel and long-missing information for wastewater-based epidemiology and improve the reliability of back-estimation in complex sewer networks.
More Related Videos
05:46Identification of Pharmaceuticals in The Aquatic Environment Using HPLC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS and Elimination of Erythromycin Through Photo-Induced Degradation
Published on: August 1, 2018
10:17High-throughput and Comprehensive Drug Surveillance Using Multisegment Injection-Capillary Electrophoresis-Mass Spectrometry
Published on: April 23, 2019
Related Concept Videos
Bioremediation
Drug Biotransformation: Overview
Drug Biotransformation: Overview
Microbial Bioremediation of Uranium
Microbial Bioremediation of Hydrocarbons
Microbial Wastewater Treatment