SP 1: Role of natural nanoparticles and colloids for the mobility and bioavailability of antibiotics in soil
Background
Natural colloids, including nanoparticles are ubiquitous in the environment and often important carriers for pharmaceuticals like antibiotics. However, almost nothing is known about how wastewater treatment and soil type modulate the prevalence of colloids and thus of colloid-associated antibiotics. Further, the effects of colloids on bioavailability of antibiotics in soil remain unclear.
Hypotheses
We hypothesize that
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Large parts of antibiotics in wastewater, soil and soil effluent are bound to colloids
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A change in wastewater quality as well as
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Different soil types alter the composition of colloids as well as the portion of antibiotics bound to them
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Binding of antibiotics to colloids reduces their bioavailability and, accordingly, the selection of antibiotic resistance genes
Methods
Optimizing methods to separate colloids and analyzing antibiotics bound to natural soil using state-of-the-art techniques, i.e., liquid chromatography - Mass spectrometry (LC/MS-MS)
Characterizing via natural colloids via Field Flow Fractionation.
Assessing concentrations of colloidal-bound antibiotics in soils irrigated with irrigation water with an increasing share of treated wastewater (SP2).
Determining the bioavailability of antibiotics altered by binding to colloids (SP3).
Monitoring the leaching of colloidal-bound antibiotics through the soil column via lysimeters (Mexican partners)
Team
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| Lena Juraschek (Phd student) | Melanie Braun (PI) | Wulf Amelung (PI) |