Simultaneous Extraction of Four Antibiotic Compounds from Soil and Water Matrices

The incidence of antibiotic resistance is on the rise and becoming a major health concern. Analyzing the presence of antibiotic compounds in the environment is critical for determining the potential health effects for humans, animals, and ecosystems. For this study, methods were developed to simultaneously isolate and quantify four antibiotics important in human medicine (sulfamethoxazole-SMX, trimethoprim-TMP, lincomycin-LIN, and ofloxacin-OFL) in water and soil matrices. For water analysis, different solid phase extraction (SPE) cartridges (Oasis HLB plus and Phenomenex Strata-X) were compared. The Oasis HLB Plus SPE cartridge provided the highest and most consistent recoveries with 118 +/- 5%, 86 +/- 4%, 83 +/- 5%, and 75 +/- 1% for SMX, TMP, LIN, and OFL, respectively. For soil analysis, different pre-treatments (grinding and freeze-drying) and soil extraction methodologies (liquid-solid extraction and accelerated solvent extraction (ASE)) were compared. The ASE system resulted in the highest overall recoveries of SMX, TMP, LIN, and OFL with an optimal extracting solution of acetonitrile/water (v/v, 50:50, pH 2.8). When the soil was ground and freeze-dried, trimethoprim recovery increased and when soil was ground, but not freeze-dried, LIN and OFL recoveries increased, while sulfamethoxazole recoveries decreased when soil was ground and freeze-dried. Based on this research, matrix characteristics, especially pH, as well as the pKa's and functional groups of the antibiotics need to be carefully considered when attempting to extract antibiotic compounds from a water or soil environment.

Automated summary

The incidence of antibiotic resistance is increasing and has become a major health concern. This study developed methods for isolating and quantifying four important antibiotics in water and soil samples. The results showed that matrix characteristics, pH, and the pKa's and functional groups of the antibiotics need to be carefully considered during the extraction process.