Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2017ND329B

Endoxifen in Wastewater and Surface Water in North Dakota: Detection and Biodegradation

Institute: North Dakota
Year Established: 2017 Start Date: 2017-03-01 End Date: 2018-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $8,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $16,000

Principal Investigators: Eakalak Khan, John McEvoy

Abstract: Endoxifen is an active metabolite responsible for the effectiveness of tamoxifen, a chemotherapeutic drug widely used for endocrine responsive breast cancer and chemo-preventive long-term treatment. Endoxifen is not completely metabolized in human body and is actively excreted. As result, endoxifen is released to the water environment via wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The antiestrogenic activity of endoxifen potentially produces negative effects on aquatic lives. Data on actual concentrations of endoxifen in the environment is limited due to recent discovery of endoxifen pharmaceutical activity. However, endoxifen has been detected in hospital and municipal wastewater effluents. The detection of endoxifen in wastewater effluents questions the treatment efficiency of WWTPs. Therefore, there is a need to remove endoxifen from wastewater in order to reduce the potential release of endoxifen into the environment. The aim of this research is to determine for the first time the presence and levels of endoxifen in North Dakota water bodies and to test biodegradation as a method to remove endoxifen. For this purpose, an extraction and detection method will be developed and bacteria strain(s) from WWTPs capable of degrading endoxifen into less hazardous compound(s) will be isolated and identified.