Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, China.
Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, China.
J Hazard Mater. 2023 Jun 15;452:131320. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.131320. Epub 2023 Mar 28.
Increasing drug residues in aquatic environments have been caused by the abuse of antivirals since the global spread of the COVID-19 epidemic, whereas research on the photolytic mechanism, pathways and toxicity of these drugs is limited. The concentration of COVID-19 antivirals ribavirin in rivers has been reported to increase after the epidemic. Its photolytic behavior and environmental risk in actual waters such as wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent, river water and lake water were first investigated in this study. Direct photolysis of ribavirin in these media was limited, but indirect photolysis was promoted in WWTP effluent and lake water by dissolved organic matter and NO. Identification of photolytic intermediates suggested that ribavirin was photolyzed mainly via C-N bond cleavage, splitting of the furan ring and oxidation of the hydroxyl group. Notably, the acute toxicity was increased after ribavirin photolysis owing to the higher toxicity of most of the products. Additionally, the overall toxicity was greater when ARB photolysis in WWTP effluent and lake water. These findings emphasize the necessity to concern about the toxicity of ribavirin transformation in natural waters, as well as to limit its usage and discharge.
由于 COVID-19 疫情在全球范围内的传播，抗病毒药物的滥用导致水生环境中的药物残留不断增加，而这些药物的光解机制、途径和毒性的研究还很有限。据报道，河流中 COVID-19 抗病毒药物利巴韦林的浓度在疫情后有所增加。本研究首次考察了利巴韦林在污水处理厂（WWTP）出水、河水和湖水等实际水体中的光解行为及其环境风险。在这些介质中，利巴韦林的直接光解受到限制，但 WWTP 出水中的溶解有机物和 NO 促进了间接光解。光解中间体的鉴定表明，利巴韦林主要通过 C-N 键断裂、呋喃环分裂和羟基氧化进行光解。值得注意的是，由于大多数产物的毒性更高，利巴韦林光解后急性毒性增加。此外，当 WWTP 出水中的 ARB 光解时，整体毒性更大。这些发现强调了在天然水中关注利巴韦林转化的毒性以及限制其使用和排放的必要性。
