Photolytic degradation of norfloxacin, enrofloxacin and ciprofloxacin in various aqueous media

Abstract

The photolytic degradation of norfloxacin, enrofloxacin and ciprofloxacin, fluoroquinolone antibacterials widely used in human and veterinary medicine, was investigated under simulated solar irradiation in different water matrices (river water and synthetic wastewater similar by composition to wastewater of pharmaceutical industry). The results showed that investigated fluoroquinolones degrade very quickly and photodegradation followed pseudo first order kinetics. The slowest photodegradation rate was observed in river water for all three fluoroquinolones. In the case of pharmaceutical mixture irradiation, no significant differences in rate constants were observed compared to single-component experiments. The structures of photodegradation products were determined and photodegradation pathways were suggested. Two main processes occurred primary from enrofloxacin depending on pH values: (I) cyclopropane ring cleavage at pH 4 and (II) oxidative photodegradation at pH 8. The structures of the photoproducts E-1 to E-6 are unknown and have not been reported for this fluoroquinolone. For ciprofloxacin two main processes were also identified depending on experimental conditions. Under acidic conditions (pH 4), reactions involved rather the quinolone ring (cleavage of the cyclopropane ring and fluorine solvolysis), while at pH 8 the side-chain reactions took place. The photodegradation pathway of norfloxacin somewhat differed from the previous two. There was no significant dependence on reaction conditions and there were no two different pathways. Determination and identification of photodegradation products were performed by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). The obtained results are of importance for assessing the environmental fate of fluoroquinolones in aqueous media.