The Fate of APIs: Summary and Further Reading


Further information on the mechanisms and pathways of API breakdown in the environment is provided in a number of comprehensive reviews on the fate of API molecules in the environment. Such reviews are provided in the recommended reading below.

Recommended reading:

K. Kümmerer, Presence, Fate and Risks of Pharmaceuticals in the Environment, in Green and Sustainable Medicinal Chemistry: Methods, Tools and Strategies for the 21st Century Pharmaceutical Industry, L. Summerton, H. F. Sneddon, L. C. Jones and J. H. Clark, Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, UK, 2016, ch. 6, pp. 63-72.

T. Haddad, E. Baginska and K. Kümmerer, Transformation products of antibiotic and cytostatic drugs in the aquatic cycle that result from effluent treatment and abiotic/biotic reactions in the environment: An increasing challenge calling for higher emphasis on measures at the beginning of the pi, Water Research, 2015, 72, 75-126.

A. Barra Caracciolo, E. Topp and P. Grenni, Pharmaceuticals in the environment: Biodegradation and effects on natural microbial communities. A review, Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis, 2015, 106, 25-36.

J. K. Challis, M. L. Hanson, K. J. Friesen and C. S. Wong, A critical assessment of the photodegradation of pharmaceuticals in aquatic environments: defining our current understanding and identifying knowledge gaps, Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts, 2014, 16, 672-696.

I. K. Konstantinou, D. A. Lambropoulou and T. A. Albanis, Photochemical Transformation of Pharmaceuticals in the Aquatic Environment: Reaction Pathways and Intermediates, in Xenobiotics in the Urban Water Cycle, D. Fatta-Kassinos, K. Bester and K. Kümmerer, Springer Netherlands, 2010, ch. 10, vol. 16, pp. 179-194.

M. D. Celiz, J. Tso and D. S. Aga, Pharmaceutical metabolites in the environment: analytical challenges and ecological risks, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 2009, 28, 2473-2484.

K. Kümmerer, Pharmaceuticals in the Environment, Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 2010, 35, 57-75.