The Study of Fate and Mobility of Oxytetracycline and Doxycycline in Soil Column Matrices

Pharmaceutical pollution is one of the most serious types of environmental pollution attracting increasing attention and leading research studies in recent years. Because of their great impact on aquatic life, soil and underground water as emerging aquatic micro pollutants, it's possible that they have been affecting the ecological system. In this study, two antibacterials, oxytetracycline and doxycycline were selected as examples of pharmaceuticals that are released into the environment and have major health impacts on our life, such as allergic reactions in the body, hives; difficulty in breathing. Both are marketed in Palestine either for the human pharmaceutical industry or the veterinary one. In this research, the adsorption behavior of both pharmaceuticals on soil, the effect of organic matter, the effect of magnesium chloride hepta hydrate addition on polluted soil, and their effect on characteristics of underground water, were all studied using the UV-Vis spectrophotometer. The results showed that increasing organic matter increases the adsorption of oxytetracycline more than doxycycline, and that the composition of oxytetracycline complex with magnesium ion was more stable than that of doxycycline complex with magnesium. The study also revealed a higher concentration of doxycycline in leachate water from the soil than that of oxytetracycline, because doxycycline has higher solubility in water. It also showed a decrease in the concentrations for both substances over time in leachate water due to degradation. The degradation of both pharmaceuticals in soil and water would be produced by other substances which may be harmful, as the threat of their presence in the soil and groundwater would increase the resistance of bacteria in the soil. In other words, that would affect the natural properties of soil and groundwater, as well.