Application of Immunological Techniques (from Vaccination to Final Measurements) in Determination of Pharmaceutical Residues in Environmental Samples

Numerous biologically active compounds are intuitively produced by humans and are present in the environment. Their fate and the occurrence of their metabolites still remain a great challenge for environmental analysts and risk assessors. There are a lot of different analytical approaches leading to the determination of residues of pharmaceuticals used both by humans and for veterinary purposes. However, the majority of known analytical approaches are based on the application of indirect methods where proper sample preparation (isolation/preconcentration of analytes prior to final determination of analytes) plays a vital role. The attention of analysts is oriented towards the direct methods when a special pretreatment of handled samples and during analysis is not needed. These procedures are fulfilling the requirement of sustainable development and can be classified as “green” analytical procedures. Immunoanalytics can be treated as a typical example of this approach. This paper presents a review of one of the most versatile and direct method of analysis, immunoassaying, focused on the application and determination of pharmaceuticals and their residues' concentration/presence in different environmental compartments.