Occurrence of veterinary antibiotics and chemotherapeutics in fresh water, sediment, and fish of the rivers and lakes in Poland

The occurrence of commonly used veterinary antimicrobial agents was investigated in 159 fresh water, 443 fish, and 150 sediment samples from Polish rivers and lakes. The agents included aminoglycosides, beta-lactams, diaminopyrimidines, fluoroquinolones, lincosamides, macrolides, pleuromutilins, sulfonamides, and tetracyclines. The analysis was performed by three different sample preparation procedures for each matrix and it was performed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry with electrospray ionisation source in positive mode, under the same conditions. All analytical methods used were validated and showed good sensitivity, accuracy, and precision. The LOQ was in the range from 5 mu g/kg to 125 mu g/kg for fish samples, from 0.02 mu g/L to 10 mu g/L for fresh water samples, and from 1 mu g/kg to 8 mu g/kg for sediment samples.