Study on the Genetic and Physiological Toxicity of Wastewater from a Pharmaceutical Factory Using Root Tip Micronucleus Technology of Vicia faba

ObjectiveThe aim was to assess genetic and physiological toxicity of wastewater from a pharmaceutical factory using root tip micronucleus technology of Vicia faba. MethodThe pollution of wastewater from a pharmaceutical factory was detected by using root tip micronucleus technology of Vicia faba, and the genetic and physiological toxicity of the wastewater to Vicia faba was assessed. ResultNon-processed wastewater had an extremely high level of biological toxicity; the cells were unable to live with the wastewater at a high concentration; the cells were able to grow with the wastewater at a low concentration, though the micronucleus ratio was extremely high. The processed wastewater had no significant impact on cell growth, but the micronucleus ratio was extremely high, showing that the processed water also had a high pollution index. ConclusionThe research could provide scientific references for the national treatment of wastewater from a pharmaceutical factory.

Use of sub-micron sized resin particles for removal of endocrine disrupting compounds and pharmaceuticals from water and wastewater

Endocrine disrupting compounds（EDCs） and pharmaceuticals pose a challenge for water and wastewater treatment because they exist at very low concentrations in the presence of substances at much higher concentrations competing for adsorption sites.Sub-micron sized resin particles（approximately 300 nm in diameter）（SMR） were tested to evaluate their potential as a treatment for EDCs including：17-β estradiol（E2）,17-α ethinylestradiol（EE2）,estrone（E1）,bisphenol A（BPA）,and diethylstilbestrol（DES） as well as 12 pharmaceuticals.SMR were able to remove 98%of spiked E2,80%of EE2,87%of BPA,and up to 97%of DES from water.For a 0.5 ppm mixture of E2,EE2,E1,BPA and DES,the minimum removal was24%（E2） and the maximum was 49%（DES）.They were also able to remove the pharmaceuticals from deionized water and wastewater.Overall,SMR are a promising advanced treatment for removal of both EDCs and pharmaceuticals.

Effect of foreign ions for the determination of metal ion in the presence of surfactants

Aluminum is the third most abundant metal in the Earth’s crust.Despite its ubiquitous nature it is present in small amount in living organisms.Aluminum toxicity has been implicated in the pathogenesis of renal distinct clinical syndromes,including progressive and fatal encephalopathy and bone diseases.In the present study,Al was selected for the analysis by complexometric method.This method was based on the formation of a red colored ternary complex by the reaction of Aluminum with Aluminon(Aurin tricarboxylic acid triammonium salt)in the presence of micellar medium.The ternary complex of Aluminum with the surfactant Triton X-100 shows a maximum absorbance at 530 nm wavelength at pH 4.0 while with the sodium dodecyl sulfate it shows a maximum absorbance at 525 nm and at pH 5.0.The reaction was proceeded by the variation in pH and concentrations of surfactants,aluminon,aluminum.Their effects on the reaction of aluminum with aluminon complex in micellar media were recorded by UV-visible spectrophotometer.The reaction was found to be extremely rapid at room temperature.The system obeys Lambert Beer’s law between 0.24 and 21.74μg/mL concentrations with Triton X-100.The values of slope,intercept and correlation coefficients were 0.07,0.348 and 0.989,respectively.The concentration varied between 0.24 and 24.14μg/mL with sodium dodecyl sulfate and the values of slope,intercept and correlation coefficients were 0.029,0.148 and 0.962,respectively.The foreign ion effect was also tested by keeping the constant concentration of metal ion and determining its concentration in the presence of different foreign ions.The method was also applied for the determination of Al(III)in pharmaceutical formulations and water samples,which showed an excellent resemblance between reported and obtained results.