Study of the application of wastewater epidemiology for estimating drug use in Spain

Identifier:  TFM:571

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/TFM571

Authors:  Peloso, Agustina Trinidad

Abstract:
In the last years, the increase in the use of drugs of abuse (DOA) has become an issue that has generated a wide interest and concern in society. Due to this, studies focused on the use of these substances have emerged. Through the analysis can be estimated from the analysis of urban wastewater as the drugs consumed by humans are eventually excreted through urine and end up in the wastewater. This approach is known as Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE). WBE is a promising tool and complementary to other alternatives, such as surveys, to estimate drug use by the general population. This tool is based on the quantitative analysis of specific metabolites of certain groups of illicit drugs in wastewater such as cocaine, amphetamines, cannabis or new psychoactive drugs. This analysis conducted with an extraction step, usually a solid phase extraction, and afterwards a chromatographic analysis is carried out, which is generally done by liquid chromatography coupled to a mass spectrometric detector. This approach was first proposed by Daughton in 2001 and has been applied in several countries to date. In 2011, it was used in a coordinated manner, at the European level, for an intercomparative study led by the SCORE network (Sewage analysis CORe group Europe). Since then this network of scientists has conducted analyses and collected data on drug use in an increasing number of European cities year after year. This paper will be carried out through a bibliographical review focused on explaining the different aspects related to the WBE strategy in order to analyse its advantages and also its weak points.