Monitoring organic micropollutants such as pharmaceuticals’ residues to assess water quality, requires sensitive, selective, high-throughput and/or on-site analytical methods. In urban waters, the influence of sewage on natural surface waters should be routinely monitored or at least after storm events with combined sewer overflows, when these waters are used, via groundwater recharge, for drinking water preparation, or, for recreational purposes, swimming and city beaches. On the other hand, estimation of removal efficiencies for these residues is also an issue for industrial and public wastewater treatment plants. ELISA, an immunoassay, has largely been described as to offer the possibility for sensitive and cost-effective microtiter plate based high-throughput screening, but it is a laboratory-based technique. To overcome this disadvantage, we developed several methods that allow for on-site measurement, most of them being bead-based. The modular, often self-prepared bead supports consist of polymer beads, gel beads, magnetic beads, or gold nanoparticles. Target analytes were pharmaceuticals (carbamazepine, diclofenac) and wastewater markers (caffeine, isolithocholic acid, cocaine). Formats were fluorescence polarization immunoassay (FPIA), lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA), and a lab-on-valve system. The results of the analyses were comparable to ELISA, however, measurements could be carried out on instruments that can be deployed in the field or employed within facilities like wastewater treatment plants. We used the methods to assess the influence of treated and untreated wastewater on the Douro river estuary in Porto, Portugal and to assess removal efficiencies in sewage treatment plants in Berlin, Germany.

Determination of emerging micropollutants in urban waters and wastewater by portable immunoanalytical methods

2019 Fall National Meeting

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