Pharmaceuticals passive sampling

There are several future trends for the development of passive sampling techniques. The first is the development of devices that can be used to monitor emerging environmental pollutants. Recently, attention has shifted from hydrophobic persistent organic pollutants to compounds with a medium-to-high polarity, for example, polar pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and personal care products.82 147148 Novel materials will need to be tested as selective receiving phases (e.g., ionic liquids, molecularly imprinted polymers, and immunoadsorbents), together with membrane materials that permit the selective diffusion of these chemicals. The sample extraction and preconcentration methods used for these devices will need to be compatible with LC-MS analytical techniques. 

Mills, G. A., B. Vrana, I. Allan, D.A. Alvarez, J.N. Huckins, and R. Greenwood. 2007. Trends in monitoring pharmaceuticals and personal-care products in the aquatic environment by use of passive sampling devices. Anal. Bioanal. Ghent. 387 1153-1157. 

The nine strategies form a powerful set of tools to devise, construct, and refine pharmaceutical analysis methods. The proactive use of a single strategy, or the combination of several, produces unique information and inspires new perspectives on analysis. In this way, analysis methods create new mechanisms for information gathering, rather than passively waiting for a sample to be generated. And in this way LC/MS analysis capabilities partnered with samplegenerating disciplines to create new accelerated development opportunities. 

Table 4.4.1 Comparison of the pharmaceutical compounds detected by the POCIS passive sampler (5-day deployment) and by simultaneous spot sampling (1 L) in the Meuse River. The detection limit for the GC/MS procedure are mentioned in brackets (Togola, 2007)...

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