Occurrence of Antimicrobials in River Water Samples from Rural Region of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Abstract

The occurrence of antimicrobials in the aquatic environment and drinking water has raised the question of their impact on the environment and public health. Animal production is one of the most expressive activities of Brazilian agribusiness. In order to ensure the productivity and competitiveness of the sector, the use of drugs for therapeutic and prophylactic purposes is a common practice. Due to the continuous release of antimicrobials into the environment, the aim of this study was to compare the frequency of detection of tetracyclines and sulfonamides in surface water collected from rural areas in Lidice District of Rio Claro, in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. An investigative study was conducted with 24 river water samples analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry and the aim of this study was to determine residues of sulfonamides and tetracyclines based on the USEPA method 1694. The results indicated the presence of sulfamethoxazole and oxytetracycline concentrations at the ng·L -1 level. The applied method showed overall good performance with recoveries above 57%, method detection limits ≤ 7.17 ng·L -1 , method quantification limits ≤ 23.90 ng·L -1 and good linearity.