Evaluation of the Environmental Impacts of the Antiretroviral Zidovudine (AZT): Evaluation of the Structure-ecotoxicity and Estimates Environmental Concentrations for the Municipality Cubatão/SP Monike Silva de Freitas, Fabio Hermes Pusceddu, Luciana Lopes Guimarães

Abstract

Drugs reach the environment through incorrect disposal, inefficiency of sewage treatment plants, and the metabolites generated. In recent times, environmental contamination by drugs has aroused such interest in scientists, since there are not many studies in the area, and this may be one of the main and greatest potential risks for aquatic species, taking into account the physiology and metabolism. Therefore, this work aims to conduct structure-ecotoxicity studies (ECOSAR) of the antiretroviral Zidovudine (AZT), and to estimate the environmental concentrations estimated for the municipality of Cubatão/SP in the period from July/2017 to July/2018. The results revealed the concentrations of 0,068 mg/L in the discharge area of the effluent of the ETE Casqueiro and 0,028 mg/L for the ETE Lagoa. ECOSAR studies revealed LC50 values of 539,6 mg/L for the acute trial (48h) and 8,8 mg/L for the chronic trial. The results obtained for the AZE PEC in the municipality of Cubatão indicate that this drug is possibly toxic to the environment, considering that the values obtained for the PEC are above the limit established in document EMEA/CHMP/SWP/ 4447/00 of the European Agency of Medicines.