Detection and quantification of residues and metabolites of medicinal products in environmental compartments, food commodities and workplaces. A review

• Published in: Journal of pharmaceutical and biomedical analysis 2015-03, Vol.106, p.3-24
• Main Authors: Bottoni, Paola, Caroli, Sergio
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analytical methods; Animals; Drug Residues - analysis; Environmental media; Environmental Monitoring - methods; Food; Food Contamination - analysis; Humans; Pharmaceuticals; Workplace
• ISSN: 0731-7085; 1873-264X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpba.2014.12.019

•Current analytical methods for medicinal products and their residues and metabolites.•Medicinal products in the environment, biota, workplaces and food.•Future trends of analytical approaches for the determination of medicinal products. The toxicological assessment of medicinal products (MPs) and their residues and metabolites in the environment have become a challenging task worldwide. The contamination of environmental compartments, biota, workplace, foodstuff and feedstuff by residues and metabolites of these substances poses a risk to human health which is still far from being fully understood. On the other hand, existing analytical methods not always possess sufficient detection power to quantify residues of MPs at very low concentrations. This review sets forth some of the most significant contributions made in this field over the past decade with a special focus on novel fit-for-purpose analytical approaches for the detection, identification and quantification of these pollutants and the assessment of their noxious potential for human beings and the environment.