Anabolic, doping, and lifestyle drugs, and selected metabolites in wastewater—detection, quantification, and behaviour monitored by high-resolution MS and MSn before and after sewage treatment

Municipal wastewater has been examined for steroids, β 2 -agonists, stimulants, diuretics, and phosphodiesterase type V inhibitors (PDE type V inhibitors), which are “dual-use-drugs” applied either as anabolic, doping, and lifestyle drugs or for treatment of diverse diseases. To identify their origin, fitness centre discharges under suspicion of being point sources and sewage-treatment plant feed and effluents were sampled and concentrations determined. Sensitive and selective methods for determination and quantification based on solid-phase extraction (SPE) followed by high-performance liquid chromatography–high resolution mass and tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC–(HR)MS and HPLC–MS–MS) were developed and established for analysis of these compounds in wastewater and to assess their effect on the environment. The methods developed enabled quantification at trace concentrations (limit of quantification (LOQ): 5 ng L −1 ). Of the steroids and stimulants under investigation, testosterone, methyltestosterone, and boldenone or ephedrine, amphetamine, and MDMA (3,4-methylendioxy- N -methylamphetamine) were observed at up to 5 μg L −1 (ephedrine). Of the β 2 -agonists salbutamol only, and of the diuretics furosemide and hydrochlorothiazide were confirmed in the extracts. Quite high concentrations of the PDE type V inhibitors sildenafil, tadalafil, and vardenafil and their metabolites were confirmed in fitness centre discharges (sildenafil: 1,945 ng L −1 ) whereas their concentrations in municipal wastewater did not exceed 35 ng L −1 . This study identified anabolic and doping drugs in wastewater for the first time. Results obtained from wastewater treatment plant effluents proved that these “dual-use-drugs”, with the exception of hydrochlorothiazide, were mostly eliminated. Figure Anabolic, doping and lifestyle drugs on their ways into the environment