Trends in on-site removal, treatment, and sensitive assay of common pharmaceuticals in surface waters

Global human population growth, advances in the healthcare sectors, investments in research, and aging societies in industrialized countries have led to a substantial increase in the consumption of pharmaceuticals. Simultaneously, advances in analytical methods and technology have allowed the treatment of pharmaceutical substances before release to aquatic environment and detection at low concentration values. Considering the importance of pharmaceuticals as one emerging group of environmental contaminants, this review provides the current state of knowledge on the technology and trends in on-site treatment and detection of common pharmaceuticals in surface waters. We discuss the general aspects and the materials used for constructing technology with selected studies between 2017 and 2021. Additionally, we explore how these materials and technologies help to develop simple but efficient treatment and detection methods for pharmaceuticals in surface waters. Finally, we discuss the future outlooks.