The presence of pharmaceuticals, which are considered as contaminants of emerging concern, in natural waters is currently recognized as a widespread problem. Monitoring these contaminants in the environment has been an important field of research since their presence can affect the ecosystems even at very low levels. Several analytical techniques have been developed to detect and quantify trace concentrations of these contaminants in the aquatic environment, namely high-performance liquid chromatography, gas chromatography, and capillary electrophoresis, usually coupled to different types of detectors, which need to be complemented with time-consuming and costly sample cleaning and pre-concentration procedures. Generally, the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), as other immunoassay methodologies, is mostly used in biological samples (most frequently urine and blood). However, during the last years, the number of studies referring the use of ELISA for the analysis of pharmaceuticals in complex environmental samples has been growing. Therefore, this work aims to present an overview of the application of ELISA for screening and quantification of pharmaceuticals in the aquatic environment, namely in water samples and biological tissues. The experimental procedures together with the main advantages and limitations of the assay are addressed, as well as new incomes related with the application of molecular imprinted polymers to mimic antibodies in similar, but alternative, approaches.

Graphical Abstract

目前认为天然水中存在被认为是令人关注的污染物的药物是一个普遍的问题。监测环境中的这些污染物已成为重要的研究领域，因为即使污染物浓度很低，它们的存在也会影响生态系统。已经开发了几种分析技术来检测和量化水生环境中这些污染物的痕量浓度，即高效液相色谱法，气相色谱法和毛细管电泳法，通常与不同类型的检测器结合使用，需要对时间进行补充。耗时且成本高昂的样品清洁和预浓缩程序。通常，酶联免疫吸附测定（ELISA）和其他免疫测定方法一样，通常用于生物样品（最常见的是尿液和血液）。然而，在最近几年中，越来越多的研究涉及将ELISA用于复杂环境样品中药物的分析。因此，这项工作旨在概述ELISA在水生环境（即水样和生物组织）中筛选和定量药物中的应用。解决了实验程序以及该测定法的主要优点和局限性，以及与分子印迹聚合物的应用相关的新收益。这项工作旨在概述ELISA在水生环境（即水样和生物组织）中筛选和定量药物中的应用。解决了实验程序以及该方法的主要优点和局限性，以及与分子印迹聚合物的应用相关的新收益。这项工作旨在概述ELISA在水生环境（即水样和生物组织）中筛选和定量药物中的应用。解决了实验程序以及该测定法的主要优点和局限性，以及与分子印迹聚合物的应用相关的新收益。以类似但替代的方法模拟抗体。

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