Application of TiO2-Based Photocatalysts to Antibiotics Degradation: Cases of Sulfamethoxazole, Trimethoprim and Ciprofloxacin

Abstract

The extensive application of antibiotics in human and veterinary medicine has led to their widespread occurrence in a natural aquatic environment. Global health crisis is associated with the fast development of antimicrobial resistance, as more and more infectious diseases cannot be treated more than once. Sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim and ciprofloxacin are the most commonly detected antibiotics in water systems worldwide. The persistent and toxic nature of these antibiotics makes their elimination by conventional treatment methods at wastewater treatment plants almost impossible. The application of advanced oxidation processes and heterogeneous photocatalysis over TiO2-based materials is a promising solution. This highly efficient technology has the potential to be sustainable, cost-efficient and energy-efficient. A comprehensive review on the application of various TiO2-based photocatalysts for the degradation of sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim and ciprofloxacin is focused on highlighting their photocatalytic performance under various reaction conditions (different amounts of pollutant and photocatalyst, pH, light source, reaction media, presence of inorganic ions, natural organic matter, oxidants). Mineralization efficiency and ecotoxicity of final products have been also considered. Further research needs have been presented based on the literature findings. Among them, design and development of highly efficient under sunlight, stable, recyclable and cost-effective TiO2-based materials; usage of real wastewaters for photocatalytic tests; and compulsory assessment of products ecotoxicity are the most important research tasks in order to meet requirements for industrial application.

Literature Review: Evaluation of Drug Removal Techniques in Municipal and Hospital Wastewater

“…These results were consistent with previous studies that showed that the concentrations of antibiotics in HWW were 3–10 times higher than those in MWW [ 37 , 59 ]. In the same context, Kutuzova et al (2021) noted that the most frequently detected antibiotics in wastewater were SMX and CIP [ 60 ].…”

Oxidative Degradation of Pharmaceuticals: The Role of Tetrapyrrole-Based Catalysts

“…These semiconductor-promoted oxidation mechanisms are complementary to the ROS formation pathways mentioned above for the TPM-based catalysts and thus potentiate drug degradation. [1,13] Thus, a significant portion of the work developed in this field has been focused on the development of hybrid catalysts comprising TPM immobilized in semiconductors [2,[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22].…”

“…Therefore, it is urgent to develop processes capable of destroying these drug-based pollutants in the environment. Among the multiple oxidative processes described in the literature so far [1][2][3][4][5][6][7], this review intends to cover exclusively the ones based on the use of tetrapyrrolic macrocycle (TPM) catalysts over the last decade. First, for systematic-mechanistic clarification, we present the accepted photo-and nonphoto oxidation mechanisms, and the following sections are focused on the photochemical and non-photochemical degradation of several families of pharmaceutical drugs using TPM-based catalysts.…”

Gold nanoparticle decoration potentiate the antibacterial enhancement of TiO2 nanotubes via sonodynamic therapy against peri-implant infections

“…For decades, plenty of strategies have been used to enhance the antibacterial capability of titanium surfaces by modification with antibacterial agents such as antimicrobial peptides ( Ma et al, 2012 ), metals ions ( Zielińska-Jurek et al, 2015 ), polymers ( Kubacka et al, 2007 ), and antibiotics ( Kutuzova et al, 2021 ). In recent years, for minimal invasiveness and well-established clinical effect, reactive oxygen species (ROS)-associated antibacterial therapy has attracted much attention, such as photodynamic therapy (PDT) ( Xu et al, 2019 ).…”