Experimental Design Methodology Applied to the Degradation of a Cytostatic Agent the Imatinib Mesylate Using Fenton Process

This manuscript investigates the degradation efficiency of a cytostatic agent imatinib mesylate (IM) by Fenton process. The objective of the study is to determine the effect of initial concentrations of hydrogen peroxide, ferrous ion and IM on the degradation process of IM. In this context, the overall research is conducted in two stages. The first stage of experiments involves the evaluation of the experimental parameters impact on the IM removal using the factorial design; whereas the second one includes the optimization conditions for IM degradation using Doehlert design. Different concentrations of H 2 O 2 (10–50 mmol L −1 ), Fe(II) (0.5–3 mmol L −1 ) and IM (0.045–1.7 mmol L −1 ) are adopted both to assess the main effects of factors and their interactions on the anticancer destruction and to establish the optimum process variables that ensure its total removal. The factorial matrix considering different combinations of factors and levels demonstrates that the concentrations of Fe(II) and IM are the most determining parameters on the removal of the target molecule. The Doehlert matrix reveals that the maximum IM abatement is predicted to be 100.59% (± 0.63) when the optimized reaction conditions are set at 30 mmol L −1 for H 2 O 2 and 2.5 mmol L −1 for Fe(II).