فهرست نشریات علمی دسترسی آزاد ایران

Azithromycin, a macrolide antibiotic, has been investigated as a treatment for COVID-19, but subsequent clinical trials revealed mixed results, leading health organizations to recommend against its routine use outside clinical trials. Despite this, its use surged in Iraq during the pandemic. Azithromycin is excreted in urine, contributing to its presence in wastewater, where it poses risks to aquatic ecosystems and can promote antibiotic resistance. This study bridges significant gaps in monitoring pharmaceutical pollutants by optimizing advanced techniques for azithromycin detection. The current study also bridges a significant technological gap by incorporating an optimized Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) method coupled with Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Optimization of several steps including extraction and LC-MS/MS are involved in the development of a method. The key SPE parameters including Sample preparation, solvent compositions and elution solvent have been carefully optimized. The flow rate was carried out at 4 min L-1. The recovery of azithromycin was greatest at 10% methanol in water (pH 4) when used as a washing solvent. Ammonium hydroxide amended with the eluting solvent also improved the recovery rates. The LC-MS/MS method for the analysis of azithromycin showed excellent linearity and precision with detection and quantification limits at 0.03 and 0.1 µg/L respectively. The reliability of the method was confirmed by recovery studies. The optimized method was then employed for the evaluation of the azithromycin content in the wastewater samples, which amounts to to 223±4, 184±2 and 168±5 ng/L obtained at SDI, SIZ and Samarra hospital, respectively