Abstract:
The wastewater treatment process, besides discharging pharmaceuticals into the environment, has been
found to result in the formation of a variety of undescribed compounds. Here we investigate the laboratory
scale chlorination of the commonly used anti-HIV drug Nevirapine, characterise its disinfection
transformation products (DTPs), and using liquid chromatography with high resolution mass spectrometry,
screen environmental surface water for these DTPs. Chlorination of Nevirapine was scaled up,
fractioned by preparative chromatography and the fractions were tested in vitro for toxicity and anti-HIV
activity. Nevirapine was found to be resistant to degradation at relevant chlorination levels, which may
partially explain its ubiquitous presence in South African surface water. During simulated chlorination, a
variety of DTPs with varying properties were formed, some of which were detected in the environment,
close to wastewater treatment plants. Interestingly, some of these compounds, although not as toxic as
Nevirapine, retained antiviral activity. Further purification and synthesis is required to fully characterise
these novel molecules.
