Lincosamides are among the most frequently detected antibacterial agents in effluents from wastewater treatment plants and surface runoff at agricultural production systems. Little is known about their transformations in the environment. This study revealed that manganese oxide caused rapid and extensive decomposition of clindamycin and lincomycin in aqueous solution. The reactions occurred mainly at the pyranose ring of lincosamides, initially by formation of complexes with Mn and cleavage of the ether linkage, leading to the formation of a variety of degradation products via subsequent hydrolytic and oxidative reactions. The results of LC-MS/MS and FTIR analysis confirm cleavage of the C-O-C bond in the pyranose ring, formation of multiple carbonyl groups, and transformation of the methylthio moiety to sulfur oxide. The overall transformation was controlled by interactions of cationic species of lincosamides with MnO(2) surfaces. The presence of electrolytes (i.e., NaCl, CaCl(2), and MnCl(2)) and dissolved organic matter in aqueous solution, and increase of solution pH, diminished lincosamide binding to MnO(2) hence reducing the rate and magnitude of the transformations. Results from this study indicate that manganese dioxides in soils and sediments could contribute to the decomposition of lincosamide antibiotics released into the environment.

Manganese(III) geocomponents are commonly found in the soil environment, yet their roles in many biogeochemical processes remain unknown. In this study, we demonstrated that Mn(III) generated from the reaction of MnO(2) and oxalic acid caused rapid and extensive decompositions of a quinoxaline-di-N-oxide antibiotics, viz carbadox. The reaction occurred primarily at the quinoxaline-di-N-oxide moiety resulting in the removal of one -O from N1-oxide and formation of desoxycarbadox. The reaction rate was accelerated by increasing amounts of Mn(III), carbadox and oxalate. The critical step in the overall reaction was the formation of a quinoxaline-di-N-oxide/Mn(III)/oxalate ternary complex in which Mn(III) functioned as the central complexing cation and electron conduit in which the arrangement of ligands facilitated electron transfer from oxalate to carbadox. In the complex, the C-C bond in oxalate was cleaved to create CO(2)(-•) radicals, followed by electron transfer to carbadox through the Mn(III) center. This proposed reaction mechanism is supported by the reaction products formed, reaction kinetics, and quantum mechanical calculations. The results obtained from this study suggest that naturally occurring Mn(III)-oxalic acid complexes could reductively decompose certain organic compounds in the environment such as the antibiotic quinoxaline-di-N-oxide.