Electrochemical Detection of Pharmaceutical Contaminants in Drinking Water Using Graphene Oxide
Santos, M., Costa, L., Barbosa, R., Lima, F.. Electrochemical Detection of Pharmaceutical Contaminants in Drinking Water Using Graphene Oxide. LRES.
Vol.2, No.1. Jun 2026. https://doi.org/10.58923/lres.2026.0101
Article
Recommended articles
Cited by 11
Metrics
Highlights
- Pharmaceutical contaminants enter drinking water systems through hospital effluents, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and incomplete wastewater treatment, posing risks to human health and aquatic ecosystems.
- We present a graphene oxide-modified glassy carbon electrode for simultaneous electrochemical detection of 12 pharmaceutical contaminants—including antibiotics, hormones, and analgesics—achieving detection limits of 0.1–2.3 ppb, below WHO guideline values for individual compounds.
- The sensor employs differential pulse voltammetry combined with a chemometric deconvolution algorithm to resolve overlapping oxidation peaks in complex water matrices.
Abstract
Pharmaceutical contaminants enter drinking water systems through hospital effluents, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and incomplete wastewater treatment, posing risks to human health and aquatic ecosystems. We present a graphene oxide-modified glassy carbon electrode for simultaneous electrochemical detection of 12 pharmaceutical contaminants—including antibiotics, hormones, and analgesics—achieving detection limits of 0.1–2.3 ppb, below WHO guideline values for individual compounds. The sensor employs differential pulse voltammetry combined with a chemometric deconvolution algorithm to resolve overlapping oxidation peaks in complex water matrices. Field validation at 8 drinking water treatment plants in Portugal and Brazil confirms applicability, detecting previously unreported contamination at 3 sites.