Wastewater-based epidemiology is a quantitative approach for obtaining population-level information about drug consumption from the occurrence of drug biomarkers in municipal wastewater. In this study, 14 biomarkers were considered: amphetamine, methamphetamine, ketamine, methadone, dextromethorphan, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (aka ecstasy), fentanyl, 6-monoacetylmorphine (a metabolite of heroin), morphine, 11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ<sup>9</sup> –tetrahydrocannabinol, benzoylecgonine (a metabolite of cocaine), hydroxyindoleacetic acid, phencyclidine, and codeine. Solid phase extraction was used to remove and concentrate the biomarkers from wastewater. An analytical method was developed to derivatize the biomarkers using two methods: sialylation with BSTFA and acylation/alkylation with TFAA and PFP-OH. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to separate the biomarkers and measure their concentrations after derivatization. This method was validated and applied a real wastewater sample. In total, 11 out of 14 biomarkers were detected in the wastewater samples.

Wastewater-based epidemiology

2019 Spring National Meeting

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