Occurrence of the antidiabetic drug Metformin and its ultimate transformation product Guanylurea in several compartments of the aquatic cycle

Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

Authors

In 2030, the World Health Organization estimates that more than 350million people will be diagnosed with diabetes. Consequently, Metformin - the biguanide drug of choice orally administered for diabetes type II - is anticipated to see a spike in production. Unlike many pharmaceutical drugs, Metformin (Met) is not metabolized by humans but passes through the body unchanged. Entering aquatic compartments, such as in sewage, it can be bacterially transformed to the ultimate transformation product Guanylurea (Gua). Sampling over one week (n=5) from a Southern German sewage treatment plant revealed very high average (AV) concentrations in influent (AVMet=111,800ng/L, AVGua=1300ng/L) and effluent samples (AVMet=4800ng/L, AVGua=44,000ng/L). To provide a more complete picture of the distribution and potential persistence of these compounds in the German water cycle, a new, efficient and highly sensitive liquid chromatography mass spectrometric method with direct injection was used for the measurement of Metformin and Guanylurea in drinking, surface, sewage and seawater. Limits of quantification (LOQ) ranging from 2-10ng/L allowed the detection of Metformin and Guanylurea in different locations such as: Lake Constance (n=11: AVMet=102ng/L, AVGua=16ng/L), river Elbe (n=12: AVMet=472ng/L, AVGua=9ng/L), river Weser (n=6: AVMet=349ng/L, AVGua=137ng/L) and for the first time in marine North Sea water (n=14: AVMet=13ng/L, AVGua=11ng/L). Based on daily water discharges, Metformin loads of 15.2kg/d (Elbe) and 6.4kg/d (Weser) into the North Sea were calculated. Lake Constance is used to abstract potable water which is further purified to be used as drinking water. A first screening of two tap water samples contained 2ng/L and 61ng/L of Metformin, respectively. The results of this study suggest that Metformin and Guanylurea could be distributed over a large fraction of the world's potable water sources and oceans. With no natural degradation processes, these compounds can be easily reintroduced to humans as they enter the food chain.

Original languageEnglish
JournalEnvironmental international
Volume70
Pages (from-to)203-212
Number of pages10
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 09.2014

    Research areas

  • Chemistry - drinking water, Emerging contaminants, Pharmaceuticals, POLLUTION, SEAWATER, Waste water

Recently viewed

Researchers

  1. Jochen Schwarz

Publications

  1. The Importance of Being First
  2. Normalitätskonstruktion und Selbstbilder erwachsener Reitender mit einer Körper- oder Sinnesbehinderung
  3. Schätzen – Aber wie?
  4. The universe of group representation in Germany
  5. The need for pluralism in landscape models: a reply to Dunn and Majer
  6. Schreiben
  7. Engaging with entrepreneurial diversity
  8. The ten principles of green sample preparation
  9. Review
  10. The professional identity of gameworkers revisited
  11. Career adaptability development in adolescence
  12. Culturally adapted mathematics education with ActiveMath
  13. SusTimeAbility
  14. Der gefühlte Anspruch in der Haftpflichtversicherung
  15. ADORE - Teaching Adolescent Struggling Readers
  16. Gender Differences in Grip-Strength Depending on Arousal and Valence of Emotions
  17. Abstand nehmen
  18. Safe-and-sustainable-by-design roadmap
  19. The multipole resonance probe: Evolution of a plasma sensor
  20. One-third Codetermination at Company Supervisory Boards and Firm Performance in German Manufacturing Industries
  21. Gemeinsam glücklicher
  22. 2. Methoden-Muster: Gestaltung von Beziehungen, Kontaktpflege, Klima
  23. Schreibfähigkeit
  24. Fallstudie
  25. Workshop on impacts of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement on fisheries and aquaculture in the EU
  26. The opportunity development process of nascent entrepreneurs
  27. The relationship between working alliance and client outcomes in coaching
  28. Hydration and Dehydration of CaO/ Ca(OH)2 and CaCl2 / CaCl2 * 6 H2O– TGA/ DSC studies
  29. Autonomie der Migration
  30. On the application of laser shock peening for retardation of surface fatigue cracks in laser beam-welded AA6056
  31. Innovation in a Computable General Equilibrium Model
  32. Zwischen Existenzkampf und Professionalisierung
  33. Wieso gilt Ada Lovelace als die ‚erste Programmiererin‘ und was bedeutet überhaupt ‚programmieren‘?
  34. Distribution and community structure of araneocoenoses (Araneae) along an altitudinal gradient on Kozuf Mountain (North Macedonia)
  35. Fiktionen, Mythen, Realitäten