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Toxics
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Advances in Monitoring, Transformation and Ecological Risk Assessment of Pharmaceuticals...
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Advances in Monitoring, Transformation and Ecological Risk Assessment of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in Aquatic Environments

A special issue of Toxics (ISSN 2305-6304). This special issue belongs to the section "Emerging Contaminants".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 2711

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Haohan Yang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Environmental Engineering and Science, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 083000, China
Interests: pharmaceuticals and personal care products; water environment monitoring; ecological risk assessment; bioavailability; biological effects
Prof. Dr. Jun Wu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Environmental Engineering and Science, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
Interests: anammox; wastewater treatment; nitrogen removal; sustainability; process op-timization; technological advancements; environmental engineering; biological treatment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Due to their widespread use and incomplete elimination, pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) have been frequently detected in aquatic environments. Although the concentrations of these pollutants are generally found at low levels, their presence is considered to pose a threat to aquatic organisms and human health. However, information about their bioavailability, biological effects, fate, and ecological risk is still largely unknown in the presence of environmental factors, such as natural organic materials, suspended particles, and micro/nanoplastics. Further investigation is also needed relating to the removal and metabolic pathways of PPCPs in wastewater treatment processes. Given that the emerging pollutants in aquatic ecosystems may threaten human health, special attention should be paid to these pollutants.

We invite research and review papers on, but not limited to, the following research areas:

  • Advanced monitoring method of PPCPs in aquatic systems;
  • Bioavailability of PPCPs under the influence of environmental factors;
  • Transformation and metabolic pathways of PPCPs in wastewater treatment;
  • Ecotoxicological effects of PPCPs on aquatic organisms;
  • Ecological risk assessment of PPCPs in water bodies.

Dr. Haohan Yang
Prof. Dr. Jun Wu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Toxics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • PPCPs
  • natural organic materials
  • micro/nanoplastics
  • bioavailability
  • ecological risk assessment
  • biological effects
  • transfromation and metabolic pathways

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 1029 KB  
Article
Robotic and On-Flow Solid Phase Extraction Coupled with LC-MS/MS for Simultaneous Determination of 16 PPCPs: Real-Time Monitoring of Wastewater Effluent in Korea
by Sook-Hyun Nam, Homin Kye, Juwon Lee, Eunju Kim, Jae-Wuk Koo, Jeongbeen Park, Yonghyun Shin, Jonggul Lee and Tae-Mun Hwang
Toxics 2025, 13(10), 899; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics13100899 - 20 Oct 2025
Abstract
Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are recognized as emerging contaminants of concern, even at ultra-trace concentrations. However, the current detection systems are prohibitively expensive and typically rely on labor-intensive, lab-based workflows that lack automation in sample pretreatment. In this study, we developed [...] Read more.
Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are recognized as emerging contaminants of concern, even at ultra-trace concentrations. However, the current detection systems are prohibitively expensive and typically rely on labor-intensive, lab-based workflows that lack automation in sample pretreatment. In this study, we developed a robotic and on-flow solid-phase extraction (ROF-SPE) system, fully integrated with online liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), for the on-site and real-time monitoring of 16 PPCPs in wastewater effluent. The system automates the entire pretreatment workflow—including sample collection, filtration, pH adjustment, solid-phase extraction, and injection—prior to seamless coupling with LC–MS/MS analysis. The optimized pretreatment parameters (pH 7 and 10, 12 mL wash volume, 9 mL elution volume) were selected for analytical efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Compared with conventional offline SPE methods (~370 min), the total analysis time was reduced to 80 min (78.4% reduction), and parallel automation significantly enhanced the throughput. The system was capable of quantifying target analytes at concentrations as low as 0.1 ng/L. Among the 16 PPCPs monitored at a municipal wastewater treatment plant in South Korea, only sulfamethazine and ranitidine were not detected. Compounds such as iopromide, caffeine, and paraxanthine were detected at high concentrations, and seasonal variation patterns were also observed This study demonstrates the feasibility of a fully automated and on-site SPE pretreatment system for ultra-trace environmental analysis and presents a practical solution for the real-time monitoring of contaminants in remote areas. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Monitoring, Transformation and Ecological Risk Assessment of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in Aquatic Environments)
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19 pages, 1246 KB  
Article
Mytilus galloprovincialis as a Biomarker for Personal Care Product (PCP) Ingredients and UV Filters (UVFs) in Tunisian Coastal Waters: Correlation with the Chemical Composition of Polluted Seawater
by Emna Nasri, Elhem Bouchiba, Bouthaina Brahmi, Siwar Bouyahi, Eduardo Alberto López-Maldonado and Mohamed Ali Borgi
Toxics 2025, 13(10), 847; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics13100847 - 6 Oct 2025
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Abstract
Today, the abundance of personal care product (PCP) ingredients and UV filters (UVFs) in coastal marine environments is a growing concern worldwide. In addition, mussels are the most commonly used sentinel organisms in bio-monitoring programs. In the current study, we collected mussels ( [...] Read more.
Today, the abundance of personal care product (PCP) ingredients and UV filters (UVFs) in coastal marine environments is a growing concern worldwide. In addition, mussels are the most commonly used sentinel organisms in bio-monitoring programs. In the current study, we collected mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) (over 6 months) from three seawater sites in Tunisia (Monastir, Sousse, and Mahdia). Analysis of the samples by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) revealed the presence of 13 compounds among the 18 PCP ingredients and UVFs investigated. Avobenzone (AVO) and tert-butyl hydroxyphenyl benzotriazole (TBHPBT) were the most frequently observed, ranging from 121.076 ± 1.6 to 193.481 ± 5.5 ng g−1 and 20.987 ± 0.7 to 26.704 ± 1.7 ng g−1, respectively, with maximum values in the city of Sousse. 4-Hydroxybenzophenone (4HB) and benzophenone-1 (BP1) were also found in all mussel samples with levels in the range of 26.745 ± 0.4 ng g−1 and 12.53 ± 0.5 ng g−1, respectively. We observed a positive correlation with the chemical characterization of the contaminated seawater. The environmental hazards of PCP ingredients were estimated with the aim of performing a preliminary risk assessment at the environmental level. For this purpose, the estimated daily intake (EDI) of a substance was calculated. The results obtained revealed a high value of up to 68.36 ng kg body-weight−1 day−1. The high concentration observed in the samples reported for the target PCP ingredients could be partly attributed to their inefficient removal before being released into the sea. We now know that PCP ingredients and UVFs cause irreparable damage to coastal ecosystems and pose the greatest risk to the aquatic organisms tested. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Monitoring, Transformation and Ecological Risk Assessment of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in Aquatic Environments)
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17 pages, 2051 KB  
Article
Comparative Toxicokinetics and Biomarker Responses of Typical Psychiatric Pharmaceuticals in Daphnia magna
by Haohan Yang, Hao Xing, Zhuoyu Chen, Linghui Kong, Hanyu Jiang and Tengyi Zhu
Toxics 2025, 13(6), 481; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics13060481 - 6 Jun 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 746
Abstract
The widespread availability and pseudo-persistence of typical psychiatric pharmaceuticals (PDs) can have serious impacts on aquatic ecosystems and even human health. However, the toxicokinetics of typical PDs and the corresponding enzymatic biomarker responses are unclear. In this study, eight typical PDs [carbamazepine (CBZ), [...] Read more.
The widespread availability and pseudo-persistence of typical psychiatric pharmaceuticals (PDs) can have serious impacts on aquatic ecosystems and even human health. However, the toxicokinetics of typical PDs and the corresponding enzymatic biomarker responses are unclear. In this study, eight typical PDs [carbamazepine (CBZ), citalopram (CIT), sertraline (SER), venlafaxine (VLF), amitriptyline (AMT), chlorpromazine (CPM), quetiapine (QTP) and clozapine (CLZ)] were selected to study the uptake, depuration and biological effects of PDs in Daphnia magna. The results found that the uptake rates (Ku) were in the sequence of VLF < QTP < CBZ < CLZ < CIT < AMT < SER < CPM, while the depuration rates (Kd) were in the order of CLZ < AMT < CIT < SER < QTP < CBZ < CPM < VLF. Correspondingly, the bioconcentration factors (BCFs) followed on as VLF < QTP < CBZ < CIT < AMT < CLZ < SER < CPM. Both pH-dependent octanol–water partition coefficients (log Dow) and liposome–water partition coefficients (log Dlip-w) exhibited positive correlations with the log BCF of PDs (p < 0.05), indicating the important roles of ionization degree and biological phospholipid contents on bioconcentration. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities were evidently induced in the SER and CPM groups, while ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) activities were significantly induced only in the CBZ group. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity was obviously induced by CBZ, SER and AMT, with levels 1.73, 1.62 and 2.44 times that of the control group (p < 0.05). The Ku of PDs, oxidative stress and metabolic level of D. magna combine to affect BCF levels together. In conclusion, this study contributes to a better understanding of the toxicokinetics and biochemical responses of PDs in D. magna and potential mechanisms of action, which may allow for a better assessment of their environmental health risks to aquatic ecosystems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Monitoring, Transformation and Ecological Risk Assessment of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in Aquatic Environments)
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13 pages, 2884 KB  
Article
Overlooked Photochemical Risk of Antimicrobial Fragrances: Formation of Potent Allergens and Their Mechanistic Pathways
by Xiaolin Niu, Junji Wu, Yi Chen, Na Luo and Yanpeng Gao
Toxics 2025, 13(5), 386; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics13050386 - 10 May 2025
Viewed by 679
Abstract
Antimicrobial fragrances, commonly found in household and personal care products, are frequently detected in water bodies, yet their environmental fate and transformation mechanisms remain inadequately explored. This study investigates the photochemical transformation of cinnamaldehyde (CA), a representative antimicrobial fragrance, and its consequence for [...] Read more.
Antimicrobial fragrances, commonly found in household and personal care products, are frequently detected in water bodies, yet their environmental fate and transformation mechanisms remain inadequately explored. This study investigates the photochemical transformation of cinnamaldehyde (CA), a representative antimicrobial fragrance, and its consequence for toxicological effects. The results showed that under UV irradiation, 94.6% CA was eliminated within 60 min, with a degradation rate of 0.059 min−1. Laser flash photolysis, quenching experiments, and electron paramagnetic resonance spectra identified O2•− and 3CA* as the important species, contributing 29.4% and 33.6%, respectively, to the transformation process. Additionally, singlet oxygen (1O2), hydroxyl radicals (•OH), and solvated electrons (eaq−) were involved in mediating the oxidation reactions. These species facilitated photoionization and oxidation, resulting in the formation of five major transformation products, including cis-cinnamyl aldehyde, cinnamic acid, styrene, 1aH-indeno [1,2-b]oxirene), and 1-Oxo-1H-indene. Most of these products were persistent, and exhibited considerable ecotoxicological risks. Specifically, the cinnamic acid and 1-Oxo-1H-indene caused severe skin irritation, while cinnamic acid induced significant eye irritation. Notably, the transformation products demonstrated sensitizing effects on human skin. This study underscores the overlooked ecotoxicological risks associated with the photochemical transformation of antimicrobial fragrances, revealing their potential to generate potent allergens and other harmful byproducts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Monitoring, Transformation and Ecological Risk Assessment of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in Aquatic Environments)
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