The goal of this work was to study quantitatively lead bioaccumulation from a leaddoped nutrient medium by using a living aquatic macrophytes Pistia stratiotes. Several sets of aquatic plants with approximately 30 g weight were grown in greenhouse conditions and in hydroponic solutions supplied with a non-toxic Pb 2+ concentration. The synchrotron radiation total X-ray fluorescence spectrometry was used to determine the metal concentrations in dry plants and hydroponic media as a function of time. Four different non-structural bioaccumulation models were applied to describe the process dynamics and to estimate the accumulated lead maximum capacity and rate constants. According to the experimental data, both biosorption and bioaccumulation mechanisms can be considered. Due to the low desorption rate constant, the experimental data were well described by the irreversible kinetic model. The results concerning modeling of living macrophytes' metal bioaccumulation kinetics can be used to predict the heavy metal removal dynamics from wastewaters in artificial wetlands.

Lately, the identification of emerging pollutants in environmental matrices has become frequent. Among these pollutants, the presence of drugs is highly relevant, because these categories of contaminants comprised thousands of active substances highly consumed worldwide. In the last decades, there has been a significant increase in the prescription and consumption of neuroactive drugs, such as antidepressants, and due to their direct action on the nervous system, neuroactive drugs are cited as a major environmental concern. Several studies have reported the presence of neuroactive drugs in wastewater treatment plants, surface waters, sediments and tissues of aquatic organisms. Environmental research involving drugs are linked to their low biodegradability and its persistence in the environment, with the potential risk of ecotoxicological effects. This paper reviews the literature related to environmental occurrence of pharmaceuticals, focusing on antidepressants incidence as well as their effects on non-target organisms. Moreover, it contributes to the scientific literature addressing the most widespread analytical techniques in this research field as well as the need for more comprehensive studies focused in detection, destination, distribution and elucidation of the likely effects caused by residual drugs in the environment.

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