title: Effects of the antimicrobial agent sulfamethazine on metolachlor persistence and sorption in soil.
abstract: Recent monitoring investigations have shown that antimicrobial agents used in veterinary medicine can cause non-point source contamination of soils through manure spreading. In the present study, the effect of the antimicrobial agent sulfamethazine (sulfadimidine) on degradation and sorption of the herbicide metolachlor in a sandy loam soil was studied. In soil samples treated with sulfamethazine at two concentrations (15 and 150 microg kg(-1) soil), metolachlor persistence was not different than of that observed in untreated samples. These results were supported by the absence of effects of both sulfamethazine concentration levels on the size of the culturable soil bacteria population. Equilibrating soil samples with metolachlor solutions containing equivalent sulfamethazine concentrations did not lead to any significant effects on metolachlor sorption, suggesting that, under the conditions of the present experiment, sulfamethazine did not affect metolachlor bioavailability in soil. This laboratory investigation showed that concentrations of sulfamethazine in the microg kg(-1) range did not cause significant effects on metolachlor degradation and sorption thus not affecting the main processes ruling its environmental fate in soil.
authors.affiliation: Department of Agro-Environmental Science and Technology, University of Bologna, Viale Fanin 44, 40127 Bologna, Italy. accinel@agrsci.unibo.it
authors.forename: Cesare
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Accinelli
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hashim
authors.forename: Rosanna
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Epifani
authors.forename: Rudolf J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vicari
mesh_terms: D000081:Acetamides / Q000378:metabolism*; D000327:Adsorption; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001682:Biological Availability; D008372:Manure; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism*; D013418:Sulfamethazine / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000081:Acetamides; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D008372:Manure; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D013418:Sulfamethazine; C051786:metolachlor