Sulfonamides or sulfa-based antibiotics are commonly used in the treatment of respiratory and urinary tract infections in humans and in aquaculture as agricultural herbicides. The widespread use of antibiotics like sulfa drugs has led to the spread of these compounds into various types of water samples. One type of sulfonamides, sulfamethoxazole was found to be present even in drinking water. In this study, two methods were used to determine their potential in removing sulfonamides in aqueous solutions. One method made use of nanomaterials that can bind with the target analytes. The other one is based on electrochemical method where different metals are used as electrodes to treat samples containing sulfonamides. The removal of sulfonamides was monitored using UV-Vis absorbance, and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Results demonstrate a change in the absorbance profile in both treatments. There is also a reduction in the peak area of sulfa drugs in both methods. This clearly indicates that both methods are applicable in the removal or degradation of sulfonamides in aqueous solutions.

Comparative performance of two methods in the removal of sulfonamides in aqueous samples

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.