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The COVID-19 outbreak has forced countries to introduce severe restrictive measures to contain its spread. In particular, physical distancing and restriction of movement have had important consequences on human behaviour and potentially also on illicit drug use and supply. These changes can be associated with additional risks for users, in particular due to reduced access to prevention and harm reduction activities. Furthermore, there have been limitations in the amount of data about drug use which can be collected due to restrictions. To goal of this study was to obtain information about potential changes in illicit drug use impacted by COVID-19 restrictions. Wastewater samples were collected in seven cities in the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Italy at the beginning of lockdowns (March-May 2020). Using previously established and validated methods, levels of amphetamine (AMP), methamphetamine (METH), MDMA, benzoylecgonine (BE, the main metabolite of cocaine) and 11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ 9 -tetrahydrocannabinol (THC-COOH, main metabolite of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)) were measured and compared with findings from previous years. Important differences in levels of consumed drugs were observed across the considered countries. Whilst for some substances and locations, marked decreases in consumption could be observed (e.g., 50% decrease in MDMA levels compared to previous years). In some cases, similar or even higher levels compared to previous years could be found. Changes in weekly patterns were also observed, however these were not clearly defined for all locations and/or substances. Findings confirm that the current situation is highly heterogeneous and that it remains very difficult to explain and/or predict the effect that the present pandemic has on illicit drug use and availability. However, given the current difficulty in obtaining data due to restrictions, wastewater analysis can provide relevant information about the situation at the local level, which would be hard to obtain otherwise., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Pesticides are active substances with potentially adverse effects on human health, and therefore great effort is addressed to study the relation between their widespread use and the effects on humans. To track human exposure to pesticides, novel approaches are needed to give additional information on exposure at population level. In this study, a novel application of Wastewater-Based Epidemiology (WBE) was developed to measure the intake of pyrethroid pesticides in a population. Three human urinary metabolites of pyrethroids were selected and validated as biomarkers of exposure by evaluating their sources and stability in wastewater. They were measured by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry in raw urban wastewater collected from the wastewater treatment plants of six Italian cities. Their concentrations were used as biomarkers to back-calculate the intake of pyrethroid pesticides in the population. WBE results were in line with the urinary biomarker levels of biomonitoring studies considering dilution in wastewater. Significant differences in the metabolites levels were observed among different cities. Seasonal variations in human intake of pyrethroids were also seen, as expected, with higher intakes during spring/summer. Intakes in the six cities were compared with the acceptable daily intake (ADI) and it was concluded that some of the populations examined might face significant health risks. Results confirm that this method can provide supplementary information to biomonitoring studies and can be a valuable tool for obtaining objective, direct information on the real levels of exposure to pyrethroids of different populations., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The information obtained from the chemical analysis of specific human excretion products (biomarkers) in urban wastewater can be used to estimate the exposure or consumption of the population under investigation to a defined substance. A proper biomarker can provide relevant information about lifestyle habits, health and wellbeing, but its selection is not an easy task as it should fulfil several specific requirements in order to be successfully employed. This paper aims to summarize the current knowledge related to the most relevant biomarkers used so far. In addition, some potential wastewater biomarkers that could be used for future applications were evaluated. For this purpose, representative chemical classes have been chosen and grouped in four main categories: (i) those that provide estimates of lifestyle factors and substance use, (ii) those used to estimate the exposure to toxicants present in the environment and food, (iii) those that have the potential to provide information about public health and illness and (iv) those used to estimate the population size. To facilitate the evaluation of the eligibility of a compound as a biomarker, information, when available, on stability in urine and wastewater and pharmacokinetic data (i.e. metabolism and urinary excretion profile) has been reviewed. Finally, several needs and recommendations for future research are proposed., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

A predictive approach is needed to study pharmaceuticals and their loads in the environment so as to restrict monitoring to the molecules most likely to occur widely. A three steps method has been developed for this purpose. The first step is to establish the Predicted Environmental Concentrations (PECs) following the approach proposed by the European Medicines Agency (EMA); then the list is refined taking account of metabolic rates and excretion of the parent compounds in humans. In the third stage the substances are sorted according to their fate in sewage treatment plants (STPs). Finally, the results are compared with real concentrations of the pharmaceuticals in surface waters analyzed by HPLC-MS/MS techniques. This paper reports results of this predictive approach in 2013 for Italy., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

8-Epi-prostaglandin F2alpha (8-epi-PGF2alpha) is an F2-isoprostane recently identified as a marker of free radical-catalyzed lipid peroxidation in vivo and potential mediator of oxidative damage. Currently, endogenous 8-epi-PGF2alpha is measured by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry after lengthy sample preparation. We extracted and purified 8-epi-PGF2alpha in one step from biological samples on immunoaffinity columns prepared with an anti-8-epi-PGF2alpha antiserum, raised in our laboratory. Quantitation was done by stable-isotope dilution gas chromatography/negative-ion chemical ionization mass spectrometry, with selected ion recording. Carboxylate anions of the pentafluorobenzyl ester trimethylsilyl ether derivative of 8-epi-PGF2alpha and [2H4]8-epi-PGF2alpha were monitored (m/z 569 and 573). Basal urinary excretion of 8-epi-PGF2alpha can be accurately and rapidly measured by this method. Under normal conditions rats (n = 30) excreted 2.18 +/- 0.68 ng/24 h. In healthy nonsmoking young volunteers, urinary excretion of 8-epi-PGF2alpha, measured three times on alternate days, was fairly constant (CV 2-10%). Nonsmokers excreted significantly less 8-epi-PGF2alpha than age-matched smokers (8.08 +/- 2.3 vs. 18.40 +/- 4.77 ng/h/1.73 m2; n = 6; p < 0.005), as reported by others using different methods.

The total urinary excretion of tetranor prostaglandin metabolites, measured as tetranorprostanedioic acid (TPD), was quantified in traditionally living Greenland Eskimos (E) and compared with that in Caucasian Danes (D). TPD excretion (microgram/24h) was not significantly different between both groups, neither for males (331 +/- 62.4 (E) vs. 331 +/- 25.7 (D), mean +/- SEM, n = 9 and 10) nor for females (190 +/- 31.7 (E) vs. 264 +/- 27.4 (D), n = 11 and 10, P2 greater than 0.05). Since urinary prostaglandin metabolites are thought to reflect the total prostaglandin turnover in vivo, these results suggest that a long-term intake of relatively large amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids of the (n-3) family does not alter total prostaglandin turnover in vivo. This is in contrast to stimulated prostanoid formation in vitro, and thus suggests a different regulatory role of dietary and tissue fatty acids for 'stimulated' and 'basal' prostaglandin production.