Occurrence and bioaccumulation of sulfonamide antibiotics in different fish species from Hangbu-Fengle River, Southeast China

As a class of synthetic sulfur drugs, sulfonamides (SAs) have been used to treat diseases and promote organism growth. Different concentrations of SAs have been detected in the water environment, which has threatened the ecological environment. In this study, the contamination of 9 SAs in water, sediments, and 8 fish species from the Hangbu-Fengle River, China, were analyzed using UPLC-MS/MS. The total SA concentrations in surface water, sediments, and fish were ND-5.064 ng/L, ND-5.052 ng/g dry weight (d.w.), and ND-1.42 ng/g wet weight (w.w.), respectively. The major compounds were sulfadiazine (SDZ), sulfamerazine (SMZ), and sulfamethoxazole (SMX) in water and fish. The SA levels of in fish from different habitat preferences revealed a spatial difference, with the order of demersal species > pelagic species. Moreover, the SA concentrations were affected by trophic guilds, indicating their decrease in the order of piscivorous fish > omnivorous fish > planktivorous fish > herbivorous fish. The obtained bioaccumulation factors showed that SMZ and SMX have strong bioenrichments in Ophiocephalus argus Cantor and Pelteobagrus fulvidraco. The risk assessment indicated that SAs did not pose significant health threats to the organisms. This research is the first report of SA contamination in the Hangbu-Fenle River, which can provide an important scientific basis for their pollution prevention and ecological risk assessment in the aquatic environment.