Tackling water pollution: real-time monitoring of residual antimicrobials concentration in aquaculture with microwave spectroscopy

Olga Korostynska,Worawat Jansomboon,Ismini Nakouti,Alex Mason,Ahmed Al- Shamma'A

doi:10.15761/ams.1000138

Abstract

To prevent the improper use of antimicrobials in aquaculture and to assist the food safety law enforcement, this paper reports on a bespoke electromagnetic (EM) wave sensing method for real-time in situ monitoring of residual antimicrobials concentrations in water samples. The antimicrobials solutions were tested in bespoke microwave cavity. Transmitted and reflected power signals were analysed in GHz frequency range and these were dependent on both: the type of antimicrobials present in water and on their concentration.

Highlights

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is usually described as the ability of microorganisms to resist antimicrobial treatments, especially antibiotics
This paper reports on the feasibility of using real-time electromagnetic wave sensing at microwave frequencies with nonthermal energy
The variation due to the change in signal caused by the varying antibiotic concentration is significantly greater than the measurement error

Summary

Introduction

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is usually described as the ability of microorganisms to resist antimicrobial treatments, especially antibiotics. AMR manifests itself as the failure in the treatment of infectious diseases in human and animal health, which carries a heavy economic cost. Antimicrobial therapy can be one of the most effective management responses to emergencies associated with infectious disease epizootics, if the antibiotics are correctly chosen and dose is appropriate for the circumstances. Once the antimicrobials are present in fish, meat or any food products – these can have direct adverse impact on human health. Screening of food products from animal origin for the presence of antimicrobial residues started soon after the introduction of antibacterial therapy in veterinary medicine. From the early 1970s regulatory residue screening in slaughter animals and later in fish became more commonly introduced across the European Union

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