Ciprofloxacin and Trimethoprim Adsorption/Desorption in Agricultural Soils

Lucía Rodríguez-López; Vanesa Santás-Miguel; Raquel Cela-Dablanca; Avelino Núñez-Delgado; Esperanza Álvarez-Rodríguez; Paula Pérez-Rodríguez; Manuel Arias-Estévez

doi:10.3390/ijerph19148426

Ciprofloxacin and Trimethoprim Adsorption/Desorption in Agricultural Soils

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Jul 10;19(14):8426. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19148426.

Authors

Lucía Rodríguez-López¹, Vanesa Santás-Miguel¹, Raquel Cela-Dablanca², Avelino Núñez-Delgado², Esperanza Álvarez-Rodríguez², Paula Pérez-Rodríguez¹, Manuel Arias-Estévez¹

Affiliations

¹ Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Vigo, 32004 Ourense, Spain.
² Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Engineering Polytechnic School, University of Santiago de Compostela, 27002 Lugo, Spain.

Abstract

The current research focuses on the adsorption/desorption characteristics of the antibiotics ciprofloxacin (CIP) and trimethoprim (TRI) taking place in 17 agricultural soils, which are studied by means of batch-type experiments. The results show that adsorption was higher for CIP, with Freundlich K_F values ranging between 1150 and 5086 Lⁿ µmol^1-n kg^-1, while they were between 29 and 110 Lⁿ µmol^1-n kg^-1 in the case of TRI. Other parameters, such as the Langmuir maximum adsorption capacity (q_m(ads)), as well as the K_d parameter in the linear model and also the adsorption percentages, follow the same trend as K_F. Desorption was lower for CIP (with K_F(des) values in the range 1089-6234 Lⁿ µmol^1-n kg^-1) than for TRI (with K_F(des) ranging between 26 and 138 Lⁿ µmol^1-n kg^-1). The higher irreversibility of CIP adsorption was also confirmed by its lower n_F(des)/n_F(ads) ratios, compared to TRI. Regarding soil characteristics, it was evidenced that nitrogen and carbon contents, as well as mineral fractions, had the highest influence on the adsorption/desorption process. These results can be considered relevant as regards the fate of both antibiotics when they reach the environment as pollutants and therefore could be considered in assessment procedures focused on environmental and public health aspects.

Keywords: antibiotics; crop soil; emerging pollutants; soil pollution.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adsorption
Anti-Bacterial Agents
Ciprofloxacin
Soil Pollutants* / analysis
Soil*
Trimethoprim

Substances

Anti-Bacterial Agents
Soil
Soil Pollutants
Ciprofloxacin
Trimethoprim

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness [grant numbers RTI2018-099574-B-C21 and RTI2018-099574-B-C22], with European Regional Development Funds (FEDER in Spain). L. Rodríguez-López holds a pre-doctoral FPU contract (FPU19/03758) (Ministry of Universities). P. Pérez-Rodríguez is supported by a postdoctoral fellowship (Galician Regional Government) (ED481D-2021/016).