Presence and Environmental Risk Assessment of Fluoxetine and Serotonin Hormone in the Istanbul Strait, Türkiye

Abstract

Pharmaceutical pollution refers to the introduction of metabolites of drugs into the environment because of their use by humans and animals, leading to chemical and biological contamination. Recently, pharmaceutically active substances have been detected in many aquatic environments. In this study, the occurrence of fluoxetine and serotonin hormone was examined in the water column of Istanbul Strait, Türkiye, and environmental risk assessment was conducted in June, August, and October of 2022. Liquid–liquid extraction (LLE) and solid phase extraction (SPE) methods were employed for the extraction of analytes from water samples, followed by derivatization and analysis via the gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) technique. Pharmaceutical and hormone levels were detected under the intermediate layer and bottom layer, but the concentrations of the target compounds at the upper layer were