Drugs

Abstract

The sections in this article are Introduction Pharmaceuticals – What They Are Pharmaceuticals in the Environment – Sources, Fate, and Effects Sources Fate Effects Risk Management (Advanced) Effluent Treatment and Its Limitations Role of Patients, Pharmacists, and Doctors Role of the Drugs Designing Environmentally Safe Drugs What are Safe Drugs? Improvements Related to Use and After‐Use Life Lower Activity Thresholds Prodrugs Drug Targeting, Drug Delivery, Degree of Metabolism Biopharmaceuticals Benign by Design Why? How? Degradable Drugs – a Contradiction per se ? Structure Matters Stability Versus Reactivity – How Stable Is Reactive Enough Examples Demonstrating Feasibility Conclusion