A new approach for the extraction of tetracyclines from soil matrices: application of the microwave-extraction technique

Effect of salinity on the toxicity of diclofenac, ibuprofen and naproxen toward cyanobacterium Synechocystis salina

Aquatic species are continuously exposed to pharmaceuticals and changeable water conditions simultaneously, which can induce changes in the toxicity of pollutants. Cyanobacterium are an organism for which less ecotoxicological tests have been performed compared to green algae. In this study, we decided to check how selected non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) affect the grow of Synechocystis salina, picocyanobacterium isolated from the Baltic Sea, with salinity as potential modulator of toxicity. S. salina was exposed to diclofenac (DCF), ibuprofen (IBF) and naproxen (NPX) (nominal 100 mg L-1) in BG11 medium and sea salt supplemented BG11 medium (38 PSU) over 96 h in continuous light at 23 °C. No acute toxicity was found in both tested salinity levels. The comparable grow rate in exposed culture compared to control culture over 4 days indicate lack of stress for several generations which need to be overcome with substantial energy consumption. S. salina was found to be halotolerant and can be species for ecotoxicology test where salinity in an additional stressor. Furthermore, resistant of S. salina to target NSAIDs provide a competitive advantage over other phytoplankton species.

A self-powered photoelectrochemical oxytetracycline aptasensor: An integrated heterojunction photoanode of metal-organic framework derived ZnO nanopolyhedra/graphitic carbon nitride with high carrier density

The development of effective strategies for the detection of oxytetracycline (OTC) in soil is of great importance for preserving agri-environmental safety and human health. Herein, a novel photoactive material of metal-organic framework (MOF) derived ZnO nanopolyhedra/graphitic carbon nitride (ZnO/g-C3N4) heterojunction was designed by mixing calcination of zeolite imidazole framework-8 (ZIF-8) and melamine. A self-powered photoelectrochemical aptasensor for the sensitive and selective detection of OTC in soil was proposed using ZnO/g-C3N4 as the photoanode. The photoactivity of the MOF derived ZnO nanopolyhedra was regulated effectively by the introduction of g-C3N4, which resulted in a 7-fold increase in the photocurrent of the ZnO nanopolyhedra at a bias potential of 0 V. It was assigned to the higher carrier density of ZnO/g-C3N4. By virtue of the amplified photocurrent of ZnO/g-C3N4, the specificity of the OTC aptamer and the anti-interference ability of the self-powered sensing method, the designed aptasensor demonstrated the advantages of a wide linear range (0.005-200 nM), low limit of detection (1.49 × 10-3 nM), good selectivity and good reproducibility. For real soil sample analysis, satisfactory recoveries were obtained and further verified by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS).

Identification and Quantification of 29 Active Substances by HPLC-ESI-MS/MS in Lyophilized Swine Manure Samples

Veterinary drugs are frequently employed to treat and prevent diseases in food-producing animals to improve animal health and to avoid the introduction of microorganisms into the food chain. The analysis of the presence of pharmaceutical residues in animal manure could help to evaluate the legal and illegal practices during food production without harming the animals and to correctly manage manure when it is going to be applied as a fertilizer. This article describes a method for the simultaneous analysis of 29 active substances, mostly antibiotics and antiparasitic agents. Substances were extracted from lyophilized manure with a methanol:McIlvaine solution and analyzed with HPLC-ESI-MS/MS and a C18 HPLC column. The method was validated following European guidelines, the achieved trueness was between 63 and 128% (depending on the analytes), and the linearity was between 100 and 1500 µg/kg. The applicability of the method was demonstrated in 40 manure samples collected from pig farms where tetracycline was quantified in 7.5% of the samples. These results show the viability of this non-invasive method for the control of the legal and illegal administration of pharmaceuticals in food-producing animals.

Uptake of Pharmaceutical Pollutants and Their Metabolites from Soil Fertilized with Manure to Parsley Tissues

Manure is a major source of soil and plant contamination with veterinary drugs residues. The aim of this study was to evaluate the uptake of 14 veterinary pharmaceuticals by parsley from soil fertilized with manure. Pharmaceutical content was determined in roots and leaves. Liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry was used for targeted analysis. Screening analysis was performed to identify transformation products in the parsley tissues. A solid-liquid extraction procedure was developed combined with solid-phase extraction, providing recoveries of 61.9–97.1% for leaves and 51.7–95.6% for roots. Four analytes were detected in parsley: enrofloxacin, tylosin, sulfamethoxazole, and doxycycline. Enrofloxacin was detected at the highest concentrations (13.4–26.3 ng g⁻¹). Doxycycline accumulated mainly in the roots, tylosin in the leaves, and sulfamethoxazole was found in both tissues. 14 transformation products were identified and their distribution were determined. This study provides important data on the uptake and transformation of pharmaceuticals in plant tissues.

The Role of Grass Compost and Zea Mays in Alleviating Toxic Effects of Tetracycline on the Soil Bacteria Community

Given their common use for disease treatment in humans, and particularly in animals, antibiotics pose an exceptionally serious threat to the soil environment. This study aimed to determine the response of soil bacteria and oxidoreductases to a tetracycline (Tc) contamination, and to establish the usability of grass compost (G) and Zea mays (Zm) in mitigating adverse Tc effects on selected microbial properties of the soil. The scope of microbiological analyses included determinations of bacteria with the conventional culture method and new-generation sequencing method (NGS). Activities of soil dehydrogenases and catalase were determined as well. Tc was found to reduce counts of organotrophic bacteria and actinobacteria in the soils as well as the activity of soil oxidoreductases. Soil fertilization with grass compost (G) and Zea mays (Zm) cultivation was found to alleviate the adverse effects of tetracycline on the mentioned group of bacteria and activity of oxidoreductases. The metagenomic analysis demonstrated that the bacteria belonging to Acidiobacteria and Proteobacteria phyla were found to prevail in the soil samples. The study results recommend soil fertilization with G and Zm cultivation as successful measures in the bioremediation of tetracycline-contaminated soils and indicate the usability of the so-called core bacteria in the bioaugmentation of such soils.

Effects of Tetracycline and Copper on Water Spinach Growth and Soil Bacterial Community

The effects of tetracycline (TC) and copper (Cu) on the growth of water spinach and the bacterial community structure in soil were examined in this study. The results revealed that a single Cu treatment decreased water spinach development more severely than TC, and that the toxic effects of TC and Cu on water spinach were synergistic at low doses and antagonistic at high concentrations. The single Cu treatment had the largest influence on the activities of three antioxidant enzymes (Superoxide Dismutase (SOD), Peroxidase (POD), Catalase (CAT)) and the content of Malondialdehyde (MDA) in water spinach leaves, followed by the TC and Cu composed treatment, with the single TC treatment having the least effect. The results of 16Sr RNA sequence analysis showed that the richness and diversity of soil bacterial communities were reduced by either a single TC or Cu treatment. Cu had a greater effect on the composition of the microbial community at genus level than TC. In conclusion, Cu had a greater influence on the growth of water spinach and soil microbial community composition than TC. TC and Cu exhibited synergistic effects at low concentrations and antagonistic effects at high concentrations on relevant indicators when Cu concentration was fixed.

Assessment of diphenhydramine toxicity - Is its mode of action conserved between human and zebrafish?

The main aim of the study is to evaluate the effects of the pharmaceutical diphenhydramine (DPH) on embryo-larvae Danio rerio across distinct levels of organization - individual and subcellular - and correlate those effects with the DPH mode of action (MoA) assessed by in silico analysis. An embryos heartbeat rate reduction was observed at 10 mg/L DPH, but 0.001 to 10 mg/L did not significantly affect the zebrafish survival, hatching and morphology. Larvae swimming distance decreased (hypoactivity) at 1 and 10 mg/L DPH. Moreover, the straightforward movements decrease and the increase in the zigzag movements or movements with direction changes, shown an erratic swimming behavior. Energy budgets decreased for lipid (0.01 mg/L DPH) and carbohydrate (10 mg/L DPH) contents. Cholinesterase (neural function) and glutathione S-transferase (Phase II biotransformation/antioxidant processes) increased their activities at 10 mg/L DPH, where a decrease in the total glutathione content (antioxidant system) was observed. DNA damage was found at 0.01 and 10 mg/L DPH. However, a DNA repair occurred after subsequent 72 h in clean media. The in silico study revealed a relevant conservation between human and zebrafish DPH target molecules. These data provide a valuable ecotoxicological information about the DPH effects and MoA to non-target organisms.

Determination of multiple antibiotics in agricultural soil using a quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe method coupled with ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

In this study, we combined ultra-high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry to establish a quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe method of detecting 21 target antibiotics in agricultural soil samples. Antibiotics were extracted with mixed solvents consisting of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium salt dihydrate and phosphoric acid citric acid buffer and acetonitrile which were purified with octadecylsilyl as an adsorbent and anhydrous sodium sulfate as a desiccant. This method was able to effectively extract all of the target antibiotics from agricultural soils, with recovery efficiencies ranging from 55 to 108% and limits of detection between 0.09-0.68 μg/kg. We also validated this new method for selectivity, sensitivity, and reliability of detecting multiple antibiotics in 12 samples. Considering the potential environmental and public health effects of antibiotics in agricultural soils, our new method can help analyze the degree of antibiotic contamination and provide valuable information for soil quality and risk assessment.

Technological Advancements for the Detection of Antibiotics in Food Products

Antibiotics, nowadays, are not only used for the treatment of human diseases but also used in animal and poultry farming to increase production. Overuse of antibiotics leads to their circulation in the food chain due to unmanaged discharge. These circulating antibiotics and their residues are a major cause of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), so comprehensive and multifaceted measures aligning with the One Health approach are crucial to curb the emergence and dissemination of antibiotic resistance through the food chain. Different chromatographic techniques and capillary electrophoresis (CE) are being widely used for the separation and detection of antibiotics and their residues from food samples. However, the matrix present in food samples interferes with the proper detection of the antibiotics, which are present in trace concentrations. This review is focused on the scientific literature published in the last decade devoted to the detection of antibiotics in food products. Various extraction methods are employed for the enrichment of antibiotics from a wide variety of food samples; however, solid-phase extraction (SPE) techniques are often used for the extraction of antibiotics from food products and biological samples. In addition, this review has scrutinized how changing instrumental composition, organization, and working parameters in the chromatography and CE can greatly impact the identification and quantification of antibiotic residues. This review also summarized recent advancements in other detection methods such as immunological assays, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS)-based assays, and biosensors which have emerged as rapid, sensitive, and selective tools for accurate detection and quantification of traces of antibiotics.

Tetracyclines in the environment: An overview on the occurrence, fate, toxicity, detection, removal methods, and sludge management

Tetracyclines (TCs) are a group of broad-spectrum antibiotics having vast human, veterinary, and aquaculture applications. The continuous release of TCs residues into the environment and the inadequate removal through the conventional treatment systems result in its prevalent occurrence in soil, surface water, groundwater, and even in drinking water. As aqueous TCs contamination is the tip of the iceberg, and TCs possess good sorption capacity towards soil, sediments, sludge, and manure, it is insufficient to rely on the sorptive removal in the conventional water treatment plants. The severity of the TCs contamination is evident from the emergence of TCs resistance in a wide variety of microorganisms. This paper reviews the recent research on the TCs occurrence in the environmental matrices, fate in natural systems, toxic effects, and the removal methods. The high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) determination of TCs in environmental samples and the associated technology developments are analyzed. The benefits and limitations of biochemical and physicochemical removal processes are also discussed. This work draws attention to the inevitability of proper TC sludge management. This paper also gives insight into the limitations of TCs related research and the future scope of research in environmental contamination by TCs residues.

Response Surface Optimization of an Extraction Method for the Simultaneous Detection of Sulfamethoxazole and 17β-Estradiol in Soil

Antibiotics and hormones widely exist in fertilizers and manures, which are excessively used in agriculture and animal husbandry. Considering their potential harm to the environment and human health, the detection of antibiotics and hormones has become a necessity. However, current methods find it difficult to simultaneously extract and detect antibiotics and hormones in soil and to maintain a high level of accuracy and a low cost. In this study, a straightforward, convenient, and simultaneous extraction and detection method of a representative antibiotic (sulfamethoxazole, SMZ) and hormone (17β-Estradiol, E2) in soil has been established. Ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) was used in the pretreatment process and high-performance liquid chromatography with the ultraviolet detector (HPLC-UV) method was then chosen in the detection process. By means of single factors and response surface experiments, optimal extraction conditions were a 41-mL buffer solution (pH 4.27) mixed with 1 g of soil sample, an ultrasonication time of 36 min, an ultrasonication temperature of 25 °C, and two extraction cycles. The detection limits of 0.3–10 μg/kg and quantification limits of 1–30 μg/kg have been obtained. Finally, the optimized simultaneous extraction and detection method was validated by three different real soil samples with recoveries ranging from 79.49% to 86.47%.

Effects of veterinary antibiotics on the fate and persistence of 17β-estradiol in swine manure

The fate and persistence of natural estrogens from livestock manure and the interactions of these compounds with veterinary antibiotics (VAs) have not been well studied. We therefore employed ¹⁴C-labeling to explore the mineralization, degradation, and residual distribution of 17β-estradiol (E2) in swine manure in the absence and presence of six categories of VAs at concentrations of 10 and 100 mg/kg. After 16 days of incubation, 94% of the E2 dissipated, of which 28% was mineralized to ¹⁴CO₂, 18% was transformed into organic-extractable E1 (9%) and other unknown metabolites (9%), and 48% into non-extractable residues (NER). VAs inhibited, enhanced or had no effect on E2 mineralization or its degradation to E1 and other metabolites. Principal component analysis showed that the overall effect of VAs was not necessarily related to their physicochemical properties or concentrations. However, high doses of macrolides inhibited E2 mineralization in manure and increased the retention of E2 and its metabolites in both free and NER forms. Our study demonstrates that considerable amounts of E2 and NER are retained in manure, despite nearly complete mineralization. Thus, VAs administered to livestock may increase the persistence of natural estrogens in manure and, accordingly, the environmental risks posed by these compounds.

Analysis and fate of 14 relevant wastewater-derived organic pollutants in long-term exposed soil

The growing use of reclaimed water in agriculture worldwide calls for developing high-sensitivity methods to quantify wastewater-derived organic contaminants in soils so that the potential risk of this irrigation practice can be properly assessed. This work describes an analytical method for the determination of trace levels of 14 drugs that are known to be poorly removed during conventional wastewater treatment in soil. The analytes selected for investigation included ten pharmaceuticals from different therapeutic classes (carbamazepine, diclofenac, cis-diltiazem, lamotrigine, methadone, midazolam, oxcarbazepine, sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim, valsartan), one illicit drug (cocaine), and three transformation products/metabolites (acridone, 4'-hydroxydiclofenac, and valsartan acid), thereby covering a broad range of physical-chemical properties. The methodology developed was based on ultrasonic solvent extraction (USE) of the analytes from the soil matrix, and subsequent clean-up and analysis of the USE extracts with a fully automated approach by means of solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry detection (online SPE-LC-MS/MS). The method was fully validated with affording method detection and quantification limits ranging from 0.03 to 1 ng g^-1 and from 0.09 to 3.3 ng g^-1, respectively. This method was applied to investigate the fate of the selected drugs in potting soil irrigated for a long term (60 days) either with water containing the target compounds at a concentration of 200 μg L^-1 or with wastewater treatment plant effluent and thus, at real environmental concentrations. All investigated compounds were found to accumulate in soil irrigated with artificially fortified water. The highest accumulation potential was observed for cis-diltiazem followed by methadone and midazolam that presented average concentrations of 1517 ng g^-1, 1041 ng g^-1, and 962 ng g^-1 d.w., respectively. On the contrary, oxcarbazepine (5.8 ng g^-1) and sulfamethoxazole (22 ng g^-1) were the target drugs presenting the lowest accumulation potential. Only trace levels of ten drugs were measured in soil irrigated with regenerated water (average concentrations between 1.6 and 4.7 ng g^-1 d.w.). Graphical abstract.

Antibiotics in the Soil Environment-Degradation and Their Impact on Microbial Activity and Diversity

Antibiotics play a key role in the management of infectious diseases in humans, animals, livestock, and aquacultures all over the world. The release of increasing amount of antibiotics into waters and soils creates a potential threat to all microorganisms in these environments. This review addresses issues related to the fate and degradation of antibiotics in soils and the impact of antibiotics on the structural, genetic and functional diversity of microbial communities. Due to the emergence of bacterial resistance to antibiotics, which is considered a worldwide public health problem, the abundance and diversity of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in soils are also discussed. When antibiotic residues enter the soil, the main processes determining their persistence are sorption to organic particles and degradation/transformation. The wide range of DT50 values for antibiotic residues in soils shows that the processes governing persistence depend on a number of different factors, e.g., physico-chemical properties of the residue, characteristics of the soil, and climatic factors (temperature, rainfall, and humidity). The results presented in this review show that antibiotics affect soil microorganisms by changing their enzyme activity and ability to metabolize different carbon sources, as well as by altering the overall microbial biomass and the relative abundance of different groups (i.e., Gram-negative bacteria, Gram-positive bacteria, and fungi) in microbial communities. Studies using methods based on analyses of nucleic acids prove that antibiotics alter the biodiversity of microbial communities and the presence of many types of ARGs in soil are affected by agricultural and human activities. It is worth emphasizing that studies on ARGs in soil have resulted in the discovery of new genes and enzymes responsible for bacterial resistance to antibiotics. However, many ambiguous results indicate that precise estimation of the impact of antibiotics on the activity and diversity of soil microbial communities is a great challenge.