Screening of Commonly Used Antibiotics in Fresh and Saltwater Samples Impacted by Aquacultures: Analytical Methodology, Occurrence and Environmental Risk Assessment

Vasiliki Boti (), Vasiliki Toli, Christina Efthymiou and Triantafyllos Albanis
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Vasiliki Boti: Department of Chemistry, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece
Vasiliki Toli: Department of Chemistry, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece
Christina Efthymiou: Department of Chemistry, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece
Triantafyllos Albanis: Department of Chemistry, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 12, 1-19

Abstract: Traditionally, antibiotics have been used to treat human and animal diseases caused by pathogenic bacteria. The aquaculture industry, which is massively expanding currently, also makes use of several antibiotic classes, resulting in potential antibiotic residues in the surrounding aquatic environment, as well as the cultured products raising bacterial resistance. The aim of this study was the optimization, validation, and application of a solid-phase extraction (SPE) method in combination with liquid chromatography (LC)-LTQ/Orbitrap mass spectrometry in order to determine the most commonly used antibiotics in waters sampled from fish farms, both saltwater and freshwater, located in Greece. Under optimum conditions, the method was validated, achieving recoveries in the range of 57.7% (for sulfamethoxazole in river water) to 95.8% (for florfenicol in river water). The method quantification limits were within the range of 0.25 and 10 ng·L −1 in all cases, with relative standard deviations (RSDs) < 15.9%. The application of the proposed methodology revealed the presence of oxytetracycline and trimethoprim traces. Finally, an assessment of the environmental risk posed by the detected antibiotics was performed, calculating either the risk quotient (RQ) for three trophic levels (8.013 × 10 −6 < RQ < 0.496) or the mixture RQ (0.005 < RQ < 0.682), proving that in all cases, the risk was medium to low.

Keywords: antibiotics; aquaculture; SPE; LC-LTQ/Orbitrap MS; environmental risk assessment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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