Navigating through the Challenges Associated with the Analysis of Antimicrobials and Their Transformation Products in Wastewater

This chapter discusses advancements and strategies in developing methods of antimicrobial analysis in wastewater, and reviews advanced separation and detection techniques. It discusses how to overcome analytical challenges commonly encountered in the trace analysis of antimicrobials in highly complex matrices, such as wastewater. Pharmaceutical residues in the environment have been called "emerging contaminants" because of their increasing frequency of detection in the aquatic and terrestrial systems, and their sublethal ecological effects that are just beginning to be uncovered. One of the most popular extraction techniques used to enhance the effectiveness of solid phase extraction (SPE) in preparing wastewater sludge for analysis is pressurized liquid extraction, also known as accelerated solvent extraction. Ultrasonication-assisted extraction has also been used to enhance the extraction of antimicrobials from wastewater sludge. Two of the most commonly employed techniques for trace analysis of organic contaminants in the environment are gas chromatography and liquid chromatography.