Case Study on the Development of a Liquid Chromatography-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry Method for Non-Targeted Detection of β-Lactam Containing Antibiotics and their Transformation Products.

Antibiotics are prolifically used to treat bacterial infections in both humans and animals; their cumulative toxic effects on aquatic organisms are not well understood and their widespread use is predicted to lead to the development of antibiotic resistance in bacteria. Therefore, they are understandably recognised as Chemicals of Emerging Concern (CECs). The β-lactam functionality is considered responsible for antibiotic/antibacterial activity hence the detection of β-lactam-containing chemicals and their transformation products (TPs) are of particular interest.