engleski

Environment and pharmaceuticals case study: biocatalysis of L-DOPA

Pharmaceuticals cure and treat diseases and represent a benefit to a modern society. However, their lifecycle is much longer than many of us are aware of. They are not completely absorbed or broken down by the body and their residues present a problem when they enter the sewage treatment systems. Due to the advances in the analytical chemistry pharmaceuticals and their residues in extreme low concentrations can be detected in the environment: soil and water. Even though their concentrations are low, they are a threat to the living organisms. Most of their long-term effects on the living cells are unknown but many are known to be negative. Not all pharmaceuticals are spent ; many expire and end up in the regular domestic garbage which is also a problem because they present a dangerous waste and should be treated as such. Dangerous waste is also emerging during the production of pharmaceuticals. That is why clean chemical synthesis is one of the world’ s major priorities at the moment. Among the methods to achieve this goal is the utilization of enzymes and whole cells as catalysts in chemical processes. So, if we take a look at the entire process of pharmaceutical production and their consumption, it can be seen that even though their benefits on the human race are unquestionable, there is still much work to do to decrease their negative side-effects on the environment and living organisms. This idea should be held in mind of chemists and engineers during the development and production of new products, as well as in the mind of all of us who are using the pharmaceuticals for our wellbeing. In this paper an example of a successful therapeutic agent – L- DOPA - will be considered as a pharmaceutical compound (known to relieve the symptoms of Parkinson’ s disease) with its benefits to the society, as well as potential threats. The ways of its industrial production will be discussed, as well as their effect to the environment.

pharmaceuticals ; medicines ; environmental factor ; L-DOPA

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