Determination of Pharmaceuticals in Surface and Wastewater by Capillary Electrophoresis (CE): A Minireview

Background: The detection of pharmaceuticals in surface and wastewater is becoming increasingly important for environmental monitoring. The release of pharmaceuticals from industry and human and animal excretion is causing devasting effects to the aqueous ecosystem and to the organisms that live in it. The various pharmaceuticals’ complex properties make it challenging to fully remove them from the wastewater prior to discharge. It is crucial that the concentration of the pharmaceuticals is at a safe limit before they are released into the ecosystem for the environment as well as human health. Scientists are currently developing methods to detect pharmaceuticals in surface and wastewater. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography (GC) are popular analytical methods. Method: Capillary electrophoresis (CE) is now gaining attention with its potential to detect pharmaceuticals in aqueous environments. CE coupled with the pretreatment procedures such as solid-phase extraction (SPE) provide excellent results for the determination of these contaminants in the water. Aim: The aim of this paper is to review the literature on capillary electrophoresis for the determination of pharmaceuticals in surface and wastewater.