Analytical strategies for assessing ionophores in the environment

Ionophores are antiparasitic compounds used worldwide as prophylactic chemotherapeutics and growth promoters in livestock production. Several reports have revealed that ionophores are emerging environmental contaminants occurring in the environment in manure, soil, surface water, groundwater and sediment, due to their continually increasing application as feed additives in modern livestock production.This article gives the first overview of the occurrence and the fate of ionophores in manure, soil, surface water, groundwater and sediment, reviews applied analytical methods and discusses possible new sample-preparation and measurement strategies.