Laboratory safety is a top priority for every research and testing facility. The proper handling...
The Study
Ketamine isn't just an anaesthetic anymore. It's a recreational drug, an emerging mental health treatment, and increasingly, a public health monitoring challenge. Researchers at the University of South Australia used wastewater-based epidemiology to track non-medical ketamine use across 50 treatment sites from December 2020 to April 2025.
The extraction method? UCT's Clean Screen XtrackT® DAU columns. The results? A clear upward trend that public health agencies need to pay attention to.
Why XtrackT Works for Wastewater
Wastewater is a difficult matrix. It's viscous, complex, and clogs standard SPE cartridges. Clean Screen XtrackT® columns use large-particle silica (80–200 µm) specifically to handle this: higher flow rates, no blockages, reliable recoveries even with the dirtiest samples.
Originally developed for equine urine testing, XtrackT® has proven equally effective for environmental applications where sample complexity would compromise finer-particle sorbents.
Product used: XRDAH506 Clean Screen XtrackT® DAU, 500 mg / 6 mL
The Method
Samples were collected as 24-hour composites in PET bottles preserved with sodium metabisulfite, then frozen until extraction.
SPE Protocol
- pH adjust samples using 10% acetic acid
- Condition columns with methanol followed by sodium acetate buffer
- Load samples
- Wash with sodium acetate buffer, 0.1M acetic acid, then methanol
- Elute with dichloromethane:isopropanol:ammonia (80:16:4)
- Evaporate and reconstitute for analysis
This procedure achieved a 1000x concentration factor. Norketamine (ketamine's primary metabolite) was quantitated by LC-MS/MS and normalised to mg/day/1000 people.
Key Findings
Norketamine was detected in 88% of samples. Average concentrations more than doubled over the study period, rising from 2.7 to 5.8 mg/day/1000 people.
The pattern points to recreational use: mass loads were higher on weekends, in inner-city areas, and in populations of higher socioeconomic status. This isn't medical prescribing. It's non-medical consumption, and it's growing.
The full study is published as "Weekend highs: Rising ketamine levels in Australian wastewater" (Keller et al., 2026).
Why Chromatography Direct
We're not just for chromatography. We're so much more than chromatography. UCT's Clean Screen and XtrackT® ranges sit alongside our full SPE, filtration, and sample prep catalogue. Whether you're running forensic toxicology, environmental monitoring, or clinical screening, we supply the consumables that get the job done.
High-quality consumables at unrivalled prices. As the home of chromatography consumables, we carry UCT's full SPE range in stock, making your lab budget go further without compromising on extraction performance. Talk to us about bulk pricing for routine wastewater monitoring programmes.
References
- Keller, E., et al. J. Environ. Advances 2026, 23, 100687. DOI: 10.1016/j.envadv.2026.100687.
- Bade, R., et al. MethodsX 2019, 6, 953–960. DOI: 10.1016/j.mex.2019.04.016.
