Cuantificación de amoxicilina y cefalexina en aguas residuales del Río de Bogotá mediante la técnica de HPLC

Abstract

The disposal of antibiotics by households, industries and hospitals to sanitary effluents is of serious concern to environmental entities, especially when the consumption of antibiotics such as Amoxicillin and Cephalexin are not strictly regulated, as is the case in Colombia. To investigate the presence and analysis of some of the most common antibiotics, this study focused on the detection and quantification of the beta-lactam antibiotics Amoxicillin and Cephalexin in wastewater from the Bogotá River, with the development of a simple and effective method based on high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Samples were collected without pretreatment and in triplicate near the Salitre treatment plant. For standard detection and quantification of antibiotics and wastewater samples, the HPLC method was established, with C18 column, UV detection at 230 and 262 nm and a mobile phase composed of water/acetonitrile (90:10 v/v) in isocratic mode. The concentration of Amoxicillin obtained was 19.18 mg/mL in the wastewater of the Bogotá River; the concentration of cephalexin could not be identified by this technique, therefore, there is no concentration record. The results showed a high concentration of antibiotics in the wastewater due to the indiscriminate use of amoxicillin and although the water of the Bogota River is not potable, it is used in the irrigation of herbaceous plant crops which leads to the presence of resistant strains and therefore, ultimately, causing the spread of antibiotic resistance.