Sulfonamides in the environment: a review and a case report

Sulfonamides are widely used in treatment of animals and humans but pose a risk as environmental pollutants. An analysis of 1588 publications focused on sulfonamides is presented here. The review deals with environmental pollution with sulfonamides, described in papers indexed in the database Web of Science from 1938 to 2011. More in depth details are presented regarding publication activity during the last ten years in which 1255 papers have been published by authors from 1100 institutions. Papers, published during the last three years and mainly in 2011, are listed in comprehensive tables, sorted according to five criteria: reviews, contaminated niches, risk of contamination, sulfonamide transformation and methods of analysis. Key words and shortened abstracts direct the reader to the topics of interest. Hyperlinks to full papers, published in open access journals, are another aid in knowledge dissemination. This design of the review article allows easy navigation through vast amounts of information. Finally, a case report illustrates experiences from the author's laboratory with sulfamethazine determination in pig slurry by ELISA. The reported results highlight the need for updating the legal directives for environmental protection.