Pharmaceutical compounds are nowadays ubiquitously detected in various environmental compartments around the world. As these compounds are present as complex mixtures and numerous other natural and anthropogenic chemicals, their transformation products (TPs), possible bio-conjugated counterparts, and their detection, quantification, and risk assessment prove extremely difficult. Recent advancements in mass spectrometry coupled with liquid chromatography (LC-MS) have enabled the detection of polar compounds with better reliability, precision, and accuracy. However, detecting trace levels of pharmaceuticals from complex matrices requires highly sensitive and selective techniques and sophisticated sample preparation steps to avoid analyte loss during sample preparation or in transit. Additionally, target analysis involves the use of expensive pharmaceutical standards and the corresponding isotope-labelled internal standards (ISs). Hence, before target analysis, it is much more viable to conduct suspect or nontarget analyses to obtain a more holistic understanding of the nature and composition of such contaminants present in environmental samples. This chapter aims to compare and compile the recent trends in suspect and nontarget screening of pharmaceuticals present in the water and wastewater matrices. Detailed information on the various mass banks, mass analyzers, and workflows for the screening of such contaminants are discussed here in detail.@en

A suitcase laboratory was used for 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to assess microbial water quality in the holy Bagmati River, Kathmandu, Nepal. SourceTracker analysis and Volcano plots revealed that microbial communities in the downstream part of the river were mainly contributed by untreated sewage. Seasonal variability in the sewage microbiome was reflected in the downstream river water quality. The bacterial genera Acidovorax, Geobacillus and Caulobacter predominated in the upstream sites, while genera containing putative human pathogens and gut bacteria, such as Clostridium, Prevotella, Arcobacter, Lactobacillus, Enterococcus and Streptococcus become prominent in the downstream sites. Marker gene qPCR assays for total bacteria, total coliforms, Human E. coli, Arcobacter butzleri and Vibrio cholerae confirmed the sequencing data trends. Even though basic sanitation provision is nowadays near universal in Nepal, our findings show how inadequate wastewater management may turn an urban river into an open sewer, which poses a public health risk.@en