The presence of pharmaceuticals in the environment has been a growing concern. Recent studies highlight the ecological risks of pharmaceuticals, but most risk assessments focus on the parent drug, neglecting metabolites. This study examines the behavior and environmental risks of carbamazepine (CBZ) and its metabolites in soil aquifer treatment (SAT) for wastewater reclamation. Findings indicate that CBZ metabolites' total concentration exceeds that of CBZ. Notably, carbamazepine-N-glucuronide (CBZ-N-Glu) concentration decreased from 48.12 ng/L to undetectable levels during SAT, while CBZ concentration increased from 64.87 to 95 ng/L, suggesting possible deconjugation of CBZ-N-Glu. Batch and column experiments confirmed the hypothesis, showing a gradual disappearance of CBZ-Glu and a corresponding rise in CBZ concentration when CBZ-N-Glu was spiked into a recirculated SAT system. Quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR) analysis revealed that CBZ exhibits higher acute and chronic toxicity, with metabolites showing varying levels of developmental toxicity. The study also evaluates the persistence, mobility, and toxicity (PMT) characteristics of CBZ and its metabolites, highlighting CBZ-N-Glu's particularly adverse PMT characteristics compared to CBZ. In summary, the residual pharmaceuticals in the reclaimed water process should be evaluated systematically, considering both the parent compounds and their metabolites.

中文翻译：

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评估卡马西平及其代谢物在土壤含水层处理中的行为和环境风险：来自解离动力学和毒性评估的见解


环境中药物的存在一直是一个日益令人担忧的问题。最近的研究强调了药物的生态风险，但大多数风险评估都集中在母体药物上，而忽略了代谢物。本研究检查了卡马西平 （CBZ） 及其代谢物在土壤含水层处理 （SAT） 中用于废水回收的行为和环境风险。研究结果表明，CBZ 代谢物的总浓度超过 CBZ。值得注意的是，在 SAT 期间，卡马西平-N-葡萄糖醛酸苷 （CBZ-N-Glu） 浓度从 48.12 ng/L 降至检测不到的水平，而 CBZ 浓度从 64.87 增加到 95 ng/L，表明 CBZ-N-Glu 可能解离。批量和色谱柱实验证实了这一假设，表明当 CBZ-N-Glu 加标到再循环 SAT 系统中时，CBZ-Glu 逐渐消失，CBZ 浓度相应升高。定量构效关系 （QSAR） 分析显示，CBZ 表现出更高的急性和慢性毒性，代谢物表现出不同程度的发育毒性。该研究还评估了 CBZ 及其代谢物的持久性、迁移性和毒性 （PMT） 特性，突出了与 CBZ 相比，CBZ-N-Glu 特别不利的 PMT 特性。总之，应系统评估再生水工艺中的残留药物，同时考虑母体化合物及其代谢物。