A new ERA for Environmental Risk Assessment: Chirality as a tool towards environmentally safe pharmaceuticals

Informazioni relative al progetto

ERA-ARE

ID dell’accordo di sovvenzione: 101039270

DOI

10.3030/101039270

Data della firma CE 10 Ottobre 2022

Data di avvio 1 Marzo 2023

Data di completamento 29 Febbraio 2028

Finanziato da

• European Research Council (ERC)

Costo totale

€ 1 499 950,00

Contributo UE

€ 1 499 950,00

Coordinato da

UNIVERSIDADE DO PORTO
Portugal

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ERA-ARE (A new ERA for Environmental Risk Assessment: Chirality as a tool towards environmentally safe pharmaceuticals)

Periodo di rendicontazione: 2023-03-01 al 2025-08-31

Sintesi del contesto e degli obiettivi generali del progetto

Pharmaceuticals, their metabolites and transformation products (TPs), are stable, poorly biodegraded and recalcitrant, and thus responsible for the emerging contamination of aquatic environments by them. Existing novel mitigation measures are insufficient and often too risky due to the possible generation of TPs. As such, a disruptive prevention strategy is urgently needed. The ERC-funded ERA-ARE project will build a robust base for the realisation of an internationally leading research group promoting environmental safety. The ERA|ARE innovative method relies on fundamental understanding of enantioselectivity of environmental processes that can impact the fate/behaviour of pharmaceutical contaminants. The project will exploit the chirality of selected antibiotics as a piloting tool, to reduce antibiotic resistance and create innovative guidelines for developing safer drugs.

Lavoro eseguito dall’inizio del progetto fino alla fine del periodo coperto dalla relazione e principali risultati finora ottenuti

Liquid Chromatography coupled to tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) methods for determination of several classes of pharmaceuticals, pesticides and illicit drugs;

Sample preparation procedures to extract these compounds from environmental matrices;

Semi-preparative chiral chromatography method to isolate pure enantiomers for further biodegradation/ ecotoxicological assays;

A spatiotemporal monitoring campaign was developed in the Douro River from Pinhão to the mouth of the river;

Enrichment of fluoroquinolone-degrading bacteria.

Progressi oltre lo stato dell’arte e potenziale impatto previsto (incluso l’impatto socioeconomico e le implicazioni sociali più ampie del progetto fino ad ora)

(i) Development of new analytical and semi-preparative methods to support biodegradation/ ecotoxicological assays;
(ii) New research infrastructure at U.Porto;
(iii) Training and knowledge dissemination;
(iv) International collaborative networks.