Techniques and Methods: Detection of antibiotics in environmental samples

Use of antimicrobial substances had been extensive since the 20 century which revolutionized medicine along with vaccination against infection. The existence and detection of antibiotics in environment have recently drawn attention with the advent of sophisticated analytical chemistry methodologies [1]. The occurrence, source and adverse effect of antibiotic especially in water bodies had been an important issue in order to assess the environmental risk they may pose. The advancement of high performance liquid chromatography coupled mass spectrometry and recent shift from gas to liquid chromatography has remarkably improved the detection and quantification of antibiotics and other pharmaceutical compounds in environmental sample including surfaceand groundwater; and soil samples of veterinary firm house etc. [2,3]. The reproducibility, precision and reliability of result for the detection of extremely low concentration of antibiotics has dramatically improved with modern mass spectrometry methods [4]. Antimicrobials such as triclosans and biphenyls were detected in trace amount from urban wastewater and marine sediments using advanced chromatographic and mass spectrometric methods [5]. The present chapter reviews the advancement of technologies for detection, purification, identification and characterization of antimicrobial agents from environmental sources.