Occurence, Fate and remediation of veterinary antibiotics in surface waters
Creators: name: Tzelepi, Evangelia
Publisher: name: Lancaster University
Year: 2024

description: Pollution from pharmaceuticals in the aquatic environment is now
 recognized as an environmental concern in many countries. There has been
 an increasing concern in recent years about the occurrence, fate, and
 adverse effects of pharmaceutical residues in the aquatic environment.
 Some of the most widely and frequently used drug classes are antibiotics
 as they can be used both in humans and animals. Pharmaceuticals end up in
 soil, surface waters and eventually in ground water, which can be used as
 a source of drinking water, after their excretion (in unmetabolized form
 or as active metabolites)
 
 from humans or animals via urine or faeces. The possible routes of
 antibiotics once they get into the aquatic environment are mainly three
 either they mineralise to carbon dioxide, sorb into the soil and sediment
 or for ends up in receiving waters (surface and ground water.
 
 
 A fast and simple method for the analysis of 15 commonly used antibiotics
 in water samples deriving from a catchment area was developed. The method
 combines online solid phase extraction using a reusable online trapping
 column combined with analytical separation on a C18 analytical column and
 detection by a signle quadrupole mass spectrometer. The method was fully
 validated for detection and quantification limits as well as linearity,
 repeatability, and matrix effects. The method gave an excellent linear
 response (r2 &gt; 0.99) and detection limits for all compounds (1–50
 ng L−1) The method was used to monitor diffuse pollution from farm and
 WwTWs in a rural area. Most of the antibiotics were detected in the
 samples, except from cephalosporins, with maximum concentrations measure
 for sulfamethoxazole at 1659 ng L-1 at the discharge point of WWTP.
 
 
 Once released into the aquatic environment, pharmaceuticals may undergo
 different degradation processes. Photodegradation is an important route of
 elimination for light-sensitive pharmaceuticals, such as antibiotics. In
 this study, the fate of two sulphonamides, one tetracycline and one
 fluoroquinolone was
 
 investigated in different matrices to establish possible degradation
 patterns. A comparison between laboratory acquired photolysis data and
 field data was made that identified an increasing need for more routine
 field work. Degradation under natural sunlight for more photosensitive
 compounds appeared in line with the laboratory results however there were
 big discrepancies between the laboratory obtained values and the ones
 derived from the outdoor experiment for the more persistent compounds.
 
 
 Recently, microalgae based technology has been explored as a potential
 alternative for the treatment of wastewater containing antibiotics by
 adsorption, accumulation, biodegradation, photodegradation, and
 hydrolysis. In this role a primitive study was conducted to evaluate the
 removal
 
 rates and degradation of two sulphonamides in the presence of naturally
 grown algae. Both of compounds exhibited faster degradation in the
 presence of algal species. After a 5 day incubation period up to 79% of
 sulfadiazine and 68% of sulfamethoxazole were removed by algae mediated
 photolysis against 56%
 
 and 28% when compared to photolysis alone by using clean media.