Student Presenter(s): Michael Maino
Faculty Mentor: Jole Fiorito
Department: Biological and Chemical Sciences
School/College: College of Arts and Sciences, Long Island

Proceeding their consumption or improper disposal, antibiotics tend to accumulate in wastewater, an environment characterized by the presence of microbes, such as bacteria. Bacterial exposure to these antibiotics poses significant consequences, such as the potential development of antibiotic resistance. In the medical realm, as the prominence of antibiotic resistance grows, antibiotic efficacy is reduced, contributing to bacterial infections that are more difficult to treat. The objective of this research is to determine, test, and validate efficient methods for detecting four antibiotics [Ampicillin (AMP), Amoxicillin (AMX), Cephalexin (CPX), Doxycycline (DXC)] in wastewater samples collected from the New York Tech wastewater treatment plant in the Long Island campus. Solid-phase extraction (SPE) was used for filtering and concentrating wastewater samples, followed by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) analysis to detect the antibiotics according to their m/z values and retention times. Antibiotic standards for each antibiotic were prepared and analyzed using the same LC/MS methods as a reference for the wastewater samples. It is believed that AMP and DXC are detectable in our wastewater samples, while AMX and CPX are believed to be undetected. These results demonstrate that the SPE and LC/MS methods of analysis are sufficient for antibiotic detection and may be useful for further research of antibiotic resistance in bacteria.