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Fate and transport of tetracycline and ciprofloxacin and impact on nitrate reduction activity in coastal sediments from the Seine Estuary, France

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Abstract

Fluoroquinolones and tetracyclines are frequently detected antibiotics in aquatic sediments. In this study, the transport of ciprofloxacin (CIP) and tetracycline (TET) was investigated in sediments from the Seine Estuary (France), under nitrate reducing conditions. Dynamic flow experiments showed that although TET and CIP strongly interacted with the sediment components through adsorption and (bio)-chemical transformation, they kept their antimicrobial activities. Less nitrate reduction was observed during the first period of breakthrough, while TET and CIP were absent in the column effluent. Batch experiments with freeze-dried vs fresh sediments showed that adsorption and abiotic degradation are the major removal processes, while microbe-driven transformation is of less importance. Whereas TET is to a large extent chemically transformed and little adsorbed in the sediment, CIP was less transformed and more adsorbed, most likely due to the great reactivity of TET with redox-active mineral surfaces. Our findings show the strong capacity of natural sediment to retain and transform antibiotics, while still maintaining their antimicrobial activity or inhibitory effect of nitrate reducing activity.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the ECOCHIM platform of the Rennes University for assistance with the nitrate and nitrite analysis. We are also grateful for the assistance of Isabelle Soutrel (LC/MS) and Mathieu Pasturel (XRD analysis).

Funding

This work was supported by the Institut Universitaire de France (IUF) and MITI-CNRS (Métallo-Mix).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Univ Rennes, CNRS, ECOBIO UMR 6553, F-35000, Rennes, France

    Chen Chen, Anniet M. Laverman, Celine Roose-Amsaleg & Garance Regimbeau

  2. Univ Rennes, Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Rennes, CNRS, ISCR – UMR6226, F-35000, Rennes, France

    Chen Chen & Khalil Hanna

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  1. Chen Chen
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  2. Anniet M. Laverman
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  3. Celine Roose-Amsaleg
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Contributions

AML, CRA, and KH designed the study. CC carried out the experiments and wrote the original draft. GR performed sediment characterization. KH, AML,and CRA wrote, reviewed, and edited the manuscript. All authors discussed the results and commented on the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Khalil Hanna.

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Chen, C., Laverman, A.M., Roose-Amsaleg, C. et al. Fate and transport of tetracycline and ciprofloxacin and impact on nitrate reduction activity in coastal sediments from the Seine Estuary, France. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 5749–5757 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-22564-1

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