{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,28]],"date-time":"2026-05-28T07:06:42Z","timestamp":1779952002887,"version":"3.53.1"},"reference-count":34,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,24]],"date-time":"2025-03-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1742774400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100005357","name":"Slovak Research and Development Agency","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["APVV-23-0576"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["APVV-23-0576"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100005357","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100005357","name":"Slovak Research and Development Agency","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["1\/0436\/23"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["1\/0436\/23"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100005357","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Vedeck\u00e1 Grantov\u00e1 Agent\u00fara Ministerstva \u0160kolstva, V\u00fdskumu, V\u00fdvoja a Ml\u00e1de\u017ee Slovenskej Republiky a Slovenskej Akad\u00e9mie vied VEGA","award":["APVV-23-0576"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["APVV-23-0576"]}]},{"name":"Vedeck\u00e1 Grantov\u00e1 Agent\u00fara Ministerstva \u0160kolstva, V\u00fdskumu, V\u00fdvoja a Ml\u00e1de\u017ee Slovenskej Republiky a Slovenskej Akad\u00e9mie vied VEGA","award":["1\/0436\/23"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["1\/0436\/23"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Toxics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study investigates the potential contamination of cash register employees in the Slovak Republic with 148 selected pharmaceuticals, illicit drugs, and their metabolites. Of these, 42 substances were detected, and it was found that the target group\u2014cashiers\u2014regularly handle large volumes of banknotes, increasing their exposure to contaminants compared to the general population. This study revealed that commonly prescribed and over-the-counter medications significantly contribute to the contamination of cash registers. This study found that cashiers exhibited notably higher detection rates of antibiotics, including penicillin-V (2\u00d7), azithromycin (23\u00d7), and erythromycin (up to 64\u00d7), than the general population. Additionally, there was an alarming increase in illegal substances, with methamphetamine levels rising fivefold and cocaine up to fifteenfold. This study highlights a broader environmental concern, suggesting that routine handling of contaminated banknotes may lead to the transfer of micropollutants. Furthermore, personal hygiene practices, particularly handwashing, could play a role in introducing pharmaceuticals and narcotics into wastewater, potentially contributing several milligrams of contaminants daily.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/toxics13040242","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,24]],"date-time":"2025-03-24T12:01:50Z","timestamp":1742817710000},"page":"242","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Banknotes as a Source of Drug and Pharmaceutical Contamination of the Population"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Nina","family":"Petrovi\u010dov\u00e1","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Radlinsk\u00e9ho 9, 812 37 Bratislava, 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Sta\u0148ov\u00e1","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"South Bohemian Research Center of Aquaculture and Biodiversity of Hydrocenoses, Faculty of Fisheries and Protection of Waters, University of South Bohemia in \u010cesk\u00e9 Budejovice, Z\u00e1ti\u0161\u00ed 728\/II, 389 25 Vod\u0148any, Czech Republic"},{"name":"Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, Mlynsk\u00e1 Dolina, Ilkovi\u010dova 6, 842 15 Bratislava, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0046-2120","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alexandra","family":"Tulip\u00e1nov\u00e1","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Radlinsk\u00e9ho 9, 812 37 Bratislava, 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