Photooxidative degradation of antivirals: Ribavirin and Emtricitabine

master's thesis

• Title (croatian): Fotooksidativna razgradnja antivirusnih lijekova: Ribavirin i Emtricitabin
• Author: Anelya Mussina
• Mentor: Šime Ukić (mentor)
• Committee member: Šime Ukić (predsjednik povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Matija Cvetnić (član povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Dajana Kučić Grgić (član povjerenstva)
• Granter: University of Zagreb; Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology; Zagreb
• Granter: University of Split; Faculty of Chemistry and Technology; Split
• Defense date and country: 2024-09-23, Croatia
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: NATURAL SCIENCES; Chemistry

Abstract

Over the past few decades, advancements in pharmaceuticals have greatly enhanced human quality of life. However, the production and widespread use of these medications have led to their presence in the environment, posing risks to various organisms. Pharmaceuticals, along with their metabolites and degradation products, can be highly persistent, accumulating over time and reaching concentrations that may be toxic to ecosystems. Consequently, it is crucial to investigate their environmental stability and persistence, as well as the potential degradation products that form. The pandemic of COVID-19 has resulted in the wide application of antiviral drugs, including ribavirin and emtricitabine, hence their raised occurrence in the environment. This study describes the photo-oxidative degradation of two antiviral drugs ribavirin and emtricitabine using advanced oxidation processes (AOPs): UV/H2O2 and UV/S2O82– to reduce their impact on the environment. Advanced oxidation processes are advanced technologies for the degradation of persistent organic pollutants in water. This process generates highly reactive species that are capable of degrading complex organic molecules into less harmful compounds. Therefore, this research was aimed at studying the efficiency of UV/H2O2 and UV/S2O82– systems for the degradation of ribavirin and emtricitabine under a variety of selected conditions, including oxidant doses, pH conditions, and different times of irradiation.
The degradation kinetics was studied with a view to defining suitable operational parameters that could help achieve maximum removal efficiency. Thus, the results indicated that both
UV/H2O2 and UV/S2O82– were highly efficient in the degradation enhancement of targeted compounds, ribavirin and emtricitabine, with respect to UV irradiation alone. In the case of emtricitabine degradation, UV/S2O82– was much more efficient, while for the degradation of ribavirin, was seen a good progress performance which was obtained both by UV/H2O2 and UV/S2O82–. These results indicate that AOPs may have great potential to be applied for the treatment of pharmaceutical contaminants present in wastewater and minimize their impact on the environment.

Abstract (croatian)

Tijekom posljednjih nekoliko desetljeća, napredak u farmaceutskim proizvodima uvelike je poboljšao kvalitetu ljudskog života. Međutim, proizvodnja i široka uporaba ovih lijekova doveli su do njihove prisutnosti u okolišu, što predstavlja rizik za razne organizme. Farmaceutski proizvodi, zajedno sa svojim metabolitima i produktima razgradnje, mogu biti vrlo postojani, akumulirajući se tijekom vremena i dostižući koncentracije koje mogu biti toksične za ekosustave. Stoga je ključno istražiti njihovu stabilnost i postojanost u okolišu, kao i moguće produkte razgradnje koji nastaju. Pandemija COVID-19 rezultirala je širokom primjenom antivirusnih lijekova, uključujući ribavirin i emtricitabin, pa stoga i njihova povećana pojava u okolišu. Ova studija opisuje fotooksidacijsku razgradnju dvaju antivirusnih lijekova ribavirina i emtricitabina korištenjem naprednih oksidacijskih procesa (AOP): UV/H2O2 i UV/S2O82– kako bi se smanjio njihov utjecaj na okoliš. Napredni oksidacijski procesi su napredne tehnologije za razgradnju postojanih organskih onečišćujućih tvari u vodi. Ovaj proces stvara visoko reaktivne vrste koje su sposobne razgraditi složene organske molekule u manje štetne spojeve. Stoga je ovo istraživanje bilo usmjereno na proučavanje učinkovitosti
UV/H2O2 i UV/S2O82– sustava za razgradnju ribavirina i emtricitabina pod različitim odabranim uvjetima, uključujući doze oksidansa, pH uvjete i različita vremena zračenja. Kinetika razgradnje proučavana je s ciljem definiranja odgovarajućih radnih parametara koji bi mogli pomoći u postizanju maksimalne učinkovitosti uklanjanja. Stoga su rezultati pokazali da su i UV/H2O2 i UV/S2O82– vrlo učinkoviti u poboljšanju razgradnje ciljanih spojeva, ribavirina i emtricitabina, s obzirom na samo UV zračenje. U slučaju razgradnje emtricitabina, UV/S2O82– bio je mnogo učinkovitiji, dok je za razgradnju ribavirina uočen dobar napredak koji je postignut i UV/H2O2 i UV/S2O82–. Ovi rezultati pokazuju da AOP mogu imati veliki potencijal za primjenu za obradu farmaceutskih kontaminanata prisutnih u otpadnim vodama i minimiziranje njihovog utjecaja na okoliš.

• Keywords: photooxidative degradation; SARS-CoV-2 antivirals; ribavirin; emtricitabine
• Keywords (croatian): fotooksidativna razgradnja; SARS-CoV-2 antivirusni lijekovi; ribavirin; emtricitabin
• Language: english
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:149:367984
• Project: Number: IP-2022-10-2822; Title: Okolišni aspekti SARS-CoV-2 antivirotika; Title: Environmental Aspects of SARS-CoV-2 Antiviral Substances; Acronym: EnA-SARS; Leader: Šime Ukić; Jurisdiction: Croatia; Funder: Hrvatska zaklada za znanost; Funding stream: Research Projects
• Study programme: Title: Chemical and environmental technology - graduate - university; Study programme type: university; Study level: graduate; Academic / professional title: sveučilišni/a magistar/magistra inženjer/inženjerka kemijskog inženjerstva (sveučilišni/a magistar/magistra inženjer/inženjerka kemijskog inženjerstva)
• Type of resource: Text
• File origin: Born digital
• Access conditions: Embargoed access; Embargo expiration date: 2028-01-01
• Created on: 2024-11-06 12:34:40