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Passive sampling is one of the most efficient methods of monitoring pharmaceuticals in environmental water. The reliability of the process relies on a correctly performed calibration experiment and a well-defined sampling rate (Rs) for target analytes. Therefore, in this review the state-of-the-art methods of passive sampler calibration for the most popular pharmaceuticals: antibiotics, hormones, β-blockers and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), along with the sampling rate variation, were presented. The advantages and difficulties in laboratory and field calibration were pointed out, according to the needs of control of the exact conditions. Sampling rate calculating equations and all the factors affecting the Rsvalue – temperature, flow, pH, salinity of the donor phase and biofouling – were discussed. Moreover, various calibration parameters gathered from the literature published in the last 16 years, including the device types, were tabled and compared. What is evident is that the sampling rate values for pharmaceuticals are impacted by several factors, whose influence is still unclear and unpredictable, while there is a big gap in experimental data. It appears that the calibration procedure needs to be improved, for example, there is a significant deficiency of PRCs (Performance Reference Compounds) for pharmaceuticals. One of the suggestions is to introduce correction factors for Rsvalues estimated in laboratory conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, biochars (BCs) produced from crops (straw and seeds) were tested for the applicability as additive to soils. The effect on pH, water capacity and cation exchange capacity of soil were tested. The ability for the sorption of pharmaceuticals (beta-blockers, anti-inflammatory drugs, sulfonamides, 17α-ethinylestradiol, carbamazepine, caffeine) using the batch sorption test was performed, and the effect of water pH was investigated. In addition, the metals removed from the biochar was analyzed as a potential toxicity factor. The mechanism of adsorption (Langmuir, Freundlich) was tested for sulfadimetoxine. The effect of the rye-derived biochar on water cress germination and the reduction of the sulfonamides toxicity to this plant was tested. The advantages of crop-derived biochar application to different soils (sand soil, clay soil and reference soil) was presented. It was found that tested BCs effectively increase the water capacity of soils, especially sand type soil, but in the same time it had increase the pH of pure-buffering soils. The driving force of pharmaceutical sorption was its ionization form - the highest sorption occurs for cations, medium for neutral forms, while the lowest sorption for anions. The opposite situation have been noted for desorption from biochar. The washing of biochars increases sorption for the neutral and anionic species, but not for the cations. The application of biochars into the soils can from one site protect the plants from toxic impact of sulfonamides, but from the other hamper the root prolongation by the pH increase. Image 1 • Crop-derived biochar show sorption toward cationic pharmaceuticals. • The mechanism of sulfonamides sorption was checked. • The amendment of soil by biochar decrease the toxicity of sulfonamides to cress. • The toxic effect of biochar to cress by the pH increase was observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]