Conference paper

Publication year: 2004

Pages: 1331-1342

Journal: Journal of Environmental Quality

Volume number: 33

Issue number: 4

ISSN: 0047-2425

eISSN: 1537-2537

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2004.1331

Conference: 12th Annual Meeting of SETAC Europe

Publisher: Wiley

Abstract: 
Residues of pharmaceutical antibiotics are found in the environment, whose fate and effects are governed by sorption. Thus, the extent and mechanisms of the soil sorption of p-aminobenzoic acid and five sulfonamide antibiotics (sulfanilamide, sulfadimidine, sulfadiazine, sulfadimethoxine, and sulfapyridine) were investigated using top-soils of fertilized and unfertilized Chernozem and their organic-mineral particle-size fractions. Freundlich adsorption coefficients (K-f) ranged from 0.5 to 6.5. Adsorption increased with aromaticity and electronegativity of functional groups attached to the sulfonyl-phenylamine core. Adsorption to soil and particle-size fractions increased in the sequence: coarse silt < whole soil < medium silt < sand < clay < fine silt and was influenced by pH. Sorption nonlinearity (1/n : 0.76) indicated specific interactions with functional groups of soil organic matter (SOM). Phenolic and carboxylic groups, N-heterocyclic compounds, and lignin decomposition products were tentatively assigned as preferred binding sites using statistical analysis of pyrolysis-mass spectra and adsorption coefficients. Adsorption of sulfonamides to mineral soil colloids was weaker and resulted in a stronger desorption from clay-size fractions. Moreover, steric accessibility of organic-mineral complexes in clay-size fractions was significantly reduced. With a quantitative structure-property relationship (QSPR) model, combining the organic carbon concentration, the sulfonamides' chromatographic capacity factor (k'), and nondissociated species concentration (CFa), distribution coefficients (K-d) were estimated with a cross-validated regression coefficient Q(2) = 0.71. Modeling and molecular mechanics calculations of antibiotic-SOM complexes showed preferred site-specific sorption via hydrogen bonds and van der Waals interactions. Distinct chemical structural properties, such as aromaticity and van der Waals volumes, correlated with the sorption data.

Harvard Citation style: Thiele-Bruhn, S., Seibicke, T., Schulten, H. and Leinweber, P. (2004) Sorption of sulfonamide pharmaceutical antibiotics on whole soils and particle-size fractions, Journal of Environmental Quality, 33(4), pp. 1331-1342. https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2004.1331

APA Citation style: Thiele-Bruhn, S., Seibicke, T., Schulten, H., & Leinweber, P. (2004). Sorption of sulfonamide pharmaceutical antibiotics on whole soils and particle-size fractions. Journal of Environmental Quality. 33(4), 1331-1342. https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2004.1331