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Binding Between Antibiotics and Polystyrene Nanoparticles Examined by NMR
Saduni S Arachchi1, Stephanie P Palma1, Charlotte I Sanders1
1Department of Chemistry, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina29634, United States.
ACS Environmental Au
|January 24, 2023
Summary
Researchers studied how plastic nanoparticles bind to antibiotics in polluted water. Levofloxacin binds strongest, outcompeting other antibiotics, while tannic acid affects binding differently for each drug.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Chemistry
- Materials Science
- Analytical Chemistry
Background:
- Plastic nanoparticles are environmental contaminants.
- These particles interact with pollutants like antibiotics in waterways.
- Understanding these interactions is crucial for environmental risk assessment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the binding interactions between polystyrene nanoparticles and common antibiotics.
- To quantify the binding affinities of different antibiotics to plastic nanoparticles.
- To assess the influence of natural organic matter on these binding events.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a suite of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) techniques.
- Employed proton NMR signal intensity and relaxation time measurements.
- Applied saturation-transfer difference (STD) NMR and competition STD-NMR for binding analysis.
Main Results:
- Antibiotic binding strength followed the order: amoxicillin < metronidazole ≪ levofloxacin.
- Levofloxacin demonstrated strong binding, inhibiting the binding of amoxicillin and metronidazole.
- Tannic acid disrupted levofloxacin-nanoparticle binding but not metronidazole-nanoparticle binding.
Conclusions:
- Plastic nanoparticle-antibiotic interactions are specific and vary significantly between antibiotic types.
- The binding affinity is influenced by the chemical structure of the antibiotic and the presence of other water components.
- These findings have implications for the fate and transport of antibiotics in aquatic environments.
