Abstract
A growing concern exists over water contamination by veterinary pharmaceuticals from small pig farms in Yucatan, Mexico, where the anaerobic digesters installed as the wastewater treatment system are not operated properly. Therefore, considerable interest exists to develop analytical methods to detect these compounds and characterize their fate in the environment. In this study, the detection of three antibiotics (enrofloxacin, oxytetracycline and sulfamethoxazole) and a β-agonist (ractopamine) was carried out using fluorescence spectrophotometry, with a semi-quantitative approach and a low environmental impact. Wastewater samples from 10 pig farms were analyzed, detecting concentrations of approximately 0.043 μg mL−1 for enrofloxacin, 1.427 μg mL−1 for oxytetracycline, and 9.748 μg mL−1 for sulfamethoxazole. The detection of these pharmaceuticals in the effluents of treated wastewater from the biodigesters of the pig farms suggests the need to optimize the system and prevent the entry of these compounds into the environment.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arcega-Cabrera F, Velázquez-Tavera N, Fargher L, Derrien M, Noreña-Barroso E (2014) Fecal sterols, seasonal variability, and probable sources along the ring of cenotes, Yucatan, Mexico. J Contam Hydrol 168:41–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jconhyd.2014.08.007
Archer E, Petrie B, Kasprzyk-Hordern B, Wolfaardt GM (2017) The fate of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), endocrine disrupting contaminants (EDCs), metabolites and illicit drugs in a WWTW and environmental waters. Chemosphere 174:437–446. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2017.01.101
Avilés-Flores M, Sánchez-Zarza M, Ramírez-Salinas N (2015) Proyecto: Métodos Analíticos para Determinación de Compuestos Emergentes en Agua. SEMARNAT-IMTA, Mexico
Bártíková H, Podlipná R, Skálová L (2016) Veterinary drugs in the environment and their toxicity to plants. Chemosphere 144:2290–2301. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2015.10.137
Carstea EM, Bridgeman J, Baker A, Reynolds DM (2016) Fluorescence spectroscopy for wastewater monitoring: a review. Water Res 95:205–219. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2016.03.021
Cervantes FJ, Saldívar-Cabrales J, Yescas JF (2007) Estrategias para el aprovechamiento de desechos porcinos en la agricultura. Revista latinoamericana de recursos naturales 3(1):3–12
Chen D, Pei X, Wu M, Xie S, Pan Y, Huang L et al (2019) Development of a networked mass spectral database for veterinary drug residues. Int J Mass Spectrom 439:1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijms.2018.11.014
Chung HS, Lee YJ, Rahman MM, Abd El-Aty AM, Lee HS, Kabir MH et al (2017) Uptake of the veterinary antibiotics chlortetracycline, enrofloxacin, and sulphathiazole from soil by radish. Sci Total Environ 605–606:322–331. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.06.231
EURACHEM/CITAC (Cooperation on International Traceability in Analytical Chemistry) (2003) Guide traceability in chemical measurement—a guide to achieving comparable results in chemical measurement, United Kingdom
FIRA (Fideicomisos Instituidos en Relación a la Agricultura) (2017) Panorama Agroalimentario: Carne de cerdo, Mexico
Founou LL, Founou RC, Essack SY (2016) Antibiotic resistance in the food chain: a developing country-perspective. Front Microbiol 7:1–19. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2016.01881
Fu L, Wang Y (2011) Nonparametric rank regression for analyzing water quality concentration data with multiple detection limits. Environ Sci Technol 45(4):1481–1489
Grande BC, Falcón MSG, Gándara JS (2000) El Uso de los Antibióticos en la Alimentación Animal: perspectiva Actual. Cienc Tecnol Aliment 3(1):39–47. https://doi.org/10.1080/11358120009487647
Hao C, Zhao X, Yang P (2007) GC-MS and HPLC-MS analysis of bioactive pharmaceuticals and personal-care products in environmental matrices. Trends Anal Chem 26(6):569–580. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trac.2007.02.011
Hudson N, Baker A, Reynolds D (2007) Fluorescence analysis of dissolved organic matter in natural, waste and polluted waters—a review. River Res Appl 23:631–649. https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.1005
ICH (International Conference on Harmonisation) (2005) Validation of analytical procedures: text and methodology Q2(R1), Switzerland
Kümmerer K (2009) The presence of pharmaceuticals in the environment due to human use-present knowledge and future challenges. J Environ Manag 90(8):2354–2366. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2009.01.023
Magnusson B, Örnemark U (2014) EURACHEM guide: the fitness for purpose of analytical methods—a laboratory guide to method validation and related topics, 2nd edn. ISBN 978-91 87461-59-0
Pan X, Qiang Z, Ben W, Chen M (2011) Simultaneous determination of three classes of antibiotics in the suspended solids of swine wastewater by ultrasonic extraction, solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. J Environ Sci 23(10):1729–1737. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1001-0742(10)60590-6
Pérez-Espejo R (2017) Porcicultura intensiva y medio ambiente en México. FAO. http://www.fao.org/docrep/X1700T/x1700t03.htm. Accessed Mar 2018
Perry E, Velazquez-Oliman G, Marin L (2002) The Hydrogeochemistry of the karst aquifer system of the northern Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Int Geol Rev 44(3):191–221. https://doi.org/10.2747/0020-6814.44.3.191
Porter S, Ward RC, Bell HF (1988) The detection limit: quality monitoring data are plagued with levels of chemicals that are too low to be measured precisely. Environ Sci Technol 22:856–861
Rodríguez AGP, López MIR, Casillas ÁDV, León JAA, Banik SD (2018) Impact of pesticides in karst groundwater. Review of recent trends in Yucatan, Mexico. Groundw Sustain Dev 7:20–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gsd.2018.02.003
Santos TMB, Trevizan PSF, Xavier CAN, Kiefer C, Ferraz ALJ (2016) Anaerobic biodigestion of manure from finishing pig supplemented with ractopamine over different periods. Eng Agríc 36(3):399–407. https://doi.org/10.1590/1809-4430-eng.agric.v36n3p399-407/2016
Seifrtová M, Pena A, Lino CM, Solich P (2008) Determination of fluoroquinolone antibiotics in hospital and municipal wastewaters in Coimbra by liquid chromatography with a monolithic column and fluorescence detection. Anal Bioanal Chem 391(3):799–805. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-008-2020-1
Tasho RP, Cho JY (2016) Veterinary antibiotics in animal waste, its distribution in soil and uptake by plants: a review. Sci Total Environ 563–564(3):366–376. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.04.140
Tong L, Li P, Wang Y, Zhu K (2009) Analysis of veterinary antibiotic residues in swine wastewater and environmental water samples using optimized SPE-LC/MS/MS. Chemosphere 74(8):1090–1097. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2008.10.051
Vega G (2011) Comisión de Control Analítico Y Ampliación de Cobertura - Criterios para la Validación de Métodos Fisicoquímicos. Secretaría de Salud, Mexico
WHO (World Health Organization) (2015) Antibiotic resistance: multi-country public awareness survey. WHO Press, Geneva
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the Laboratorio Nacional de Nano y Biomateriales del CINVESTAV, Unidad Merida for the facilities and the equipment offered and Secretaría de Desarrollo Urbano y Medio Ambiente del Gobierno del Estado de Yucatan for allowing access to the farms, and finally, the authors are grateful for the financial support received from Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT). Special thanks to Robin K Bagley for her kind help improving the English writing.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
León-Aguirre, K., Hernández-Núñez, E., González-Sánchez, A. et al. A Rapid and Green Method for the Determination of Veterinary Pharmaceuticals in Swine Wastewater by Fluorescence Spectrophotometry. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 103, 610–616 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-019-02701-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-019-02701-2