Wastewater-Based Monitoring of the Nitazene Analogues: First Detection of Protonitazene in Wastewater
Open accessAbstract
Synthetic opioids, particularly the nitazene analogues class, have become a public health concern due to their high potency. Wastewater-based epidemiology can detect community use of these compounds. The objective of this work was to detect nitazene analogues in wastewater from samples collected from eight sites in the United States. Influent wastewater samples were collected from eight sites in seven states (Arizona, Oregon, New Mexico, Illinois, New Jersey, Washington and Georgia) in the United States. Samples were collected from each site on three days between 27 December 2022 and 4 January 2023, acidified on collection, stored frozen and shipped to Arizona State University (Tempe, AZ) for sample processing. Samples were then shipped to The University of Queensland (Brisbane, Australia) for sample analysis. Protonitazene was found in samples collected from two sites in Washington and Illinois. The concentration was estimated up to 0.5 ng/L, with estimated excreted mass loads up to 0.3 mg/day/1000 people. This work has shown that it is possible to detect nitazene analogues in wastewater using a combination of sample pre-concentration and sensitive instrumentation, thereby further expanding the utility of wastewater-based epidemiology.
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In 2022-2023, protonitazene was found above the limit of detection in two samples from two sites in the United States, at concentrations up to 0.5 ng/L and estimated mass load up to 0.3 mg/day/1000 people.
“In the 2022 to 2023 collection, protonitazene was found above the limit of detection in two samples from two sites in the United States, at concentrations of up to 0.5 ng/L, and estimated mass load of up to 0.3 mg/day/1000 people, as previously published [22].”
From Early identification of the use of potent benzylbenzimidazoles (nitazenes) through wastewater analysis: Two years of data from 22 countries (2025) · cites this paper as [22]
A recent study detected protonitazene in wastewater for the first time in samples collected in Washington and Illinois, United States, between 27 December 2022 and 4 January 2023.
“A recent study detected protonitazene in wastewater for the first time in samples collected in Washington and Illinois, United States (US) between 27 December 2022 and 4 January 2023 [22].”
From Early identification of the use of potent benzylbenzimidazoles (nitazenes) through wastewater analysis: Two years of data from 22 countries (2025) · cites this paper as [22]
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- Authors
- Bade, R., Nadarajan, D., Driver, E. M., Halden, R. U., Gerber, C., Krotulski, A., Hall, W., & Mueller, J. F.
- Affiliations
- The University of Queensland (AU)
- Arizona State University (US)
- Arizona State University Foundation for A New American University (US)
- University of South Australia (AU)
- Fredric Rieders Family Foundation (US)
- Corresponding author
- Bade, Richard
- ORCID
- Venue
- Science of The Total Environment
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2024-04
- Volume
- 920
- Pages
- 170781
- ISSN
- 0048-9697 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4391774882
- Cited by
- 33
- References
- 15
- Citations by year
- 2026: 14 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 3
- FWCI
- 3.29
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- The Science of The Total Environment (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UniSA Research Outputs Repository (University of South Australia) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- University of Queensland
- J M Kaplan Fund
- Australian Research Council (DE220100381, FL200100028)
- Queensland Health
- Arizona State University Foundation
- Arizona State University
- Australian Government (30009070)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Pharmaceutical and Antibiotic Environmental Impacts
- Life Sciences › Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics › Toxicology › Forensic Toxicology and Drug Analysis
- Physical Sciences › Chemistry › Analytical Chemistry › Analytical chemistry methods development
- Keywords
- synthetic opioids, wastewater-based epidemiology, wastewater surveillance, illicit drug use, sample pre-concentration, emerging contaminants
- MeSH terms
- Wastewater-Based Epidemiological Monitoring, Arizona, Australia, Humans, Illicit Drugs, Water Pollutants, Chemical, Wastewater
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