Nonextractable residue formation of sulfonamide antimicrobials: New insights from soil incubation experiments

Soil incubation experiments using 14C-labelled sulfamethazine were carried out to assess the factors governing its nonextractable residue (NER) formation via nucleophilic addition reactions. Circumstantial evidence on possible mechanisms of NER formation was derived from a selective manipulation of soil samples. The amount of quinones in soil available for nucleophilic addition was a limiting factor as indicated by (i) an (initial) increase of NER formation by adding quinone precursors or enhancing their formation by manganese oxide addition and (ii) a decrease of NER formation by limiting the formation of quinones under anaerobic conditions. A slow NER formation with time under aerobic conditions is likely caused by covalent bonding as well, because no slow NER formation phase was observed under anaerobic conditions.