Omar S. A. Al-Khazajy
PhD Student

Profile

Biography

Omar is an environmental analytical chemist with an interest in the application of analytical chemistry in the monitoring, fate and uptake of pharmaceuticals in aquatic systems. His studies focus on the impacts of pharmaceutical in the aquatic sediment.

Before starting his PhD, Omar worked as assistant lecturer- analytical chemistry at department of chemistry- College of Ibn Al-Haitham for pure science, University of Baghdad, Iraq (2006-2013).

Career

Research

Overview

Description of PhD

Title:         Analysis, occurrence, fate and uptake of pharmaceuticals in natural aquatic sediment   

Supervisor:     Professor Alistair Boxall

Funding:     Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MOHESR), Iraq

Description of thesis:

Sediment is often the ultimate reservoir for persistent chemicals which are released from industrial, hospital and domestic effluents or from agriculture and veterinary medicine as diffuse discharges; and can therefore be seen as a “secondary source” of contaminants in the environment. Contaminated sediment may pose a potential risk to aquatic biota (fish and benthic invertebrates) and human health. On the other hand the occurrence of pharmaceuticals in natural sediment was scarcely studied.

In his PhD, Omar is working on:

1. The application of risk-based model for the prioritization of pharmaceuticals in environment (e.g. Iraq) by establishing the importance of pharmaceuticals exposure as a pressure on the natural environment in Iraq and to identify pharmaceuticals of most concern in local aquatic and terrestrial environments of the three main cities in the country (Baghdad, Mosul and Basrah), where only little is currently known about the exposure and effects of these substances. The prioritization approaches used to achieve this were based on the potential for pharmaceuticals to enter the aquatic and terrestrial environments and their potential toxic effects on the ecosystems, bacterial community and human health.
2. Studying the impacts of compound properties and sediment characteristics on the sorption behaviour of pharmaceuticals in aquatic systems. This part aims to develop a better understanding of the sorption behaviour of pharmaceuticals in sediment-water systems and of how sediment and pharmaceutical physico-chemical properties influence this behaviour.
3. Characterize the persistence of pharmaceuticals with different chemical properties in freshwater sediments with wide range of physicochemical properties at environmentally relevant concentrations and how does the degradation potential vary between sediments? Also to obtain further insight on factors controlling the degradation of pharmaceuticals through investigation the possible statistical relationship between sediment properties and sorption distribution coefficient and degradation rate. 
4. Developing new analytical techniques for the determination of pharmaceuticals and some of their metabolites in sediment and use these methods in monitoring of pharmaceuticals in sediment collected from around the city of York. 
5. Study the uptake and depuration of pharmaceuticals in sediment dwelling organisms and how the physicochemical properties could affect availability of pharmaceuticals to be uptaken by organisms. 

Publications

Selected publications

Omar S.A. Al-Khazrajy, Alistair B.A. Boxall: Impacts of compound properties and sediment characteristics on the sorption behaviour of pharmaceuticals in aquatic systems. Journal of hazardous materials 05/2016; 317. DOI:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2016.05.065.

Omar S. A. Al-Khazrajy, Alistair B. A. Boxall: Risk-based prioritization of pharmaceuticals in the natural environment in Iraq. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 04/2016;  DOI:10.1007/s11356-016-6679-0.

Dhafir T. Ajeel Al-Heetimi, Muna Abdul Rasool Kadhum, Omar Sabeeh Al-khazrajy, ‘Adsorption of Metoclopromide Hydrochloride onto Burned Initiated Iraqi Bentonite’, Journal of Al-Nahrain University - Science, 2014, 17, 1, Pages: 41-49.

Omar S.A. Khazrajy, Mohammed H. Abdul Latif, Maha A. Al – Abayaji, ‘Adsorption of Ciprofloxacin Hydrochloride from Aqueous Solution by Iraqi Porcelinaite Adsorbent’. 2012 Volume: 15,  Issue: 2, Pages: 35-46.

Omar Sabeeh Abdullah Al-Khazrajy, Spectrophotometric Determination of Ketotifen Fumarate in Pure and Pharmaceutical Preparations by Bromophenol Blue Reagent. IBN AL- HAITHAM J. FOR PURE & APPL. SCI., 24 (3) 2011.