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  • Assessing the transformatio...
    Ivanic, Federico M.; Butler, Matías; Borón, Carlos I.; Candal, Roberto J.

    Chemosphere (Oxford), December 2023, 2023-12-00, 20231201, Volume: 343
    Journal Article

    Oxytetracycline (OTC) is a widely used broad-spectrum antibiotic, whose presence in water and sediments was reported in various regions of the world. The effects of OTC and other tetracyclines on the environment have been intensively studied although many of their transformation products (TPs) formed in the environment and their impact have not been yet fully characterized. Abiotic and biotic degradation tests under aerobic conditions at two pH values were carried out using OTC in artificial water/sediment systems to assess the effect of these variables on the environmental fate of the pollutant. HPLC-MSn was employed to detect and identify the main degradation products and pathways. Several transformations involved in the process were identified including alcohol oxidation, decarbonylation and hydroxylation. Differences in TPs and kinetics were found among degradation conditions, remarking a faster degradation of both OTC and TPs in the presence of microorganisms and at lower pH values. In summary, a total of 44 TPs were detected and structures were proposed for 20 of them, none of them having been previously reported. Furthermore, OTC degradation generated 24 TPs which remained in either solution or sediment, although none of them displayed higher algae toxicity than OTC. These results might be useful for planning future remediation and monitoring strategies. Display omitted •OTC remains more in artificial sediment at the higher pH tested for all conditions•Transformation products of OTC were dependent on both the pH and biotic conditions•More than 50% of the transformation products were still in solution after 55 days•Chemical structures were proposed for 20 of the 44 transformation products detected