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Photochemical generation of sulfate radicals for the degradation of the pharmaceutical compound sertraline in the aqueous phase

Efstathiou Nikolaos

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Summary

The present dissertation deals with the indirect photolysis in aqueous solutions of the antidepressant drug sertraline. This chemical, known as Zoloft, belongs to the class of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI). This experiment was performed under the influence of ultraviolet radiation (UVC radiation) and in the presence of the chemical oxidizing reagent Sodium Persulfate (Na2S2O8). The experiments took place in a special beaker with a capacity of 2 L, placed in a wooden box. Inside the beaker was placed a low pressure mercury lamp in a suitable quartz tube. The beaker was placed on a magnetic stirrer to achieve stirring of the solution. Also, the experiments were performed at ambient temperature (23-25 οC), pH=7 and the solution was in contact with ambient air. Samples were taken to determine the residual concentration of sertraline. To study the indirect photolysis of sertraline, experiments were performed in the presence of the chemical oxidizing reagent Sodium Persulfate (S2O82-), with an oxidant concentration range of 0.5 mmol/L to 20 mmol/L. It was found that the rate of photochemical degradation of sertraline increased with increasing oxidant concentration till the concentration of 20 mmol/L where the highest constant kobs value was observed. Finally, it was found that the concentration of sertraline decreases exponentially so that the photochemical decay appears to follow pseudo-first order kinetics.

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