Pharmaceuticals are biologically active and persistent substances which have been recognized as a con-tinuing threat to environmental stability. Chronic ecotoxicity data as well as information on the current distribution levels in different environmental compartments continue to be sparse and are focused on those therapeutic classes that are more frequently prescribed and consumed. Nevertheless, they indicate the negative impact that these chemical contaminants may have on living organisms, ecosystems and ultimately, public health. This article reviews the different contamination sources as well as fate and both acute and chronic effects on nontarget organisms. An extensive review of existing data in the form of tables, encompassing many therapeutic classes is presented.Keywords: Pharmaceuticals, Sources, Environmental fate, Ecotoxicological effects

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Abstractα-Amylase has been considered an important therapeutic target for the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), decreasing postprandial hyperglycaemia (PPHG). In the present work, a panel of 40 structurally related flavonoids was tested, concerning their ability to inhibit α-amylase activity, using a microanalysis screening system, an inhibitory kinetic analysis and molecular docking calculations. From the obtained results, it was possible to observe that the flavone with a -Cl ion at 3-position of C-ring, an –OH group at 3′- and 4′- positions of B-ring and at 5- and 7- positions of A-ring and the C2 = C3 double bond, was the most active tested flavonoid, through competitive inhibition. In conclusion, some of the tested flavonoids have shown promising inhibition of α-amylase and may be considered as possible alternatives to the modulation of T2DM.

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In this paper, we report the hydrothermal synthesis of three lanthanide-organic framework materials using as primary building blocks the metallic centers Eu(3+), Tb(3+), and Gd(3+) and residues of mellitic acid: [Ln(2)(MELL)(H(2)O)(6)] (where Ln(3+) = Eu(3+), Tb(3+), and Gd(3); hereafter designated as (1), (2) and (3)). Structural characterization encompasses single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies, thermal analysis, and vibrational spectroscopy, plus detailed investigations on the experimental and predicted (using the Sparkle/AM1 model) photophysical luminescent properties. Crystallographic investigations showed that the compounds are all isostructural, crystallizing in the orthorhombic space group Pnnm and structurally identical to the lanthanum 3D material reported by the group of Williams. (2) is highly photoluminescent, as confirmed by the measured quantum yield and lifetime (37% and 0.74 ms, respectively). The intensity parameters (Omega(2), Omega(4), and Omega(6)) of (1) were first calculated using the Sparkle/AM1 structures and then employed in the calculation of the rates of energy transfer (W(ET)) and back-transfer (W(BT)). Intensity parameters were used to predict the radiative decay rate. The calculated quantum yield derived from the Sparkle/AM1 structures was approximately 16%, and the experimental value was 8%. We attribute the registered differences to the fact that the theoretical model does not consider the vibronic coupling with O-H oscillators from coordinated water molecules. These results clearly attest for the efficacy of the theoretical models employed in all calculations and open a new window of interesting possibilities for the design in silico of novel and highly efficient lanthanide-organic frameworks.

Butein, a competitive inhibitor of α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzymes, is a promising therapeutic drug to modulate diabetes mellitus.

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