title: The development of a rapid screening technique to measure antibiotic activity in effluents and surface water samples.
abstract: Use of antibiotics in medicine, farming and aquaculture results in a continual supply of these pharmaceuticals and their breakdown products reaching the environment. A method has been developed to use for screening environmental samples to establish whether they contain antibiotics. The assay is based on a commercially available test kit and uses some modifications of the test procedure and SPE techniques to deliver a fast, semi-quantifiable result. Development of the assay and results from spiked and environmental samples are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Burnham Laboratory, Remembrance Avenue, Burnham on Crouch, Essex CM0 8HA, United Kingdom. andy.smith@cefas.co.uk
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Balaam
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ward
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D001411:Geobacillus stearothermophilus / Q000187:drug effects; D019055:No-Observed-Adverse-Effect Level; D045483:Rivers; D013997:Time Factors; D014867:Water / Q000032:analysis*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D014867:Water