Abstract

The occurrence of pharmaceuticals in the environmenthas been a topic of increasing concern. Pharmaceuticals are notcompletely mineralized in the human body and are released on thesewage systems as the pharmaceutical itself and as their "biologicallyactive" metabolites through excretion, as well as by improperelimination and disposal. Conventional wastewater treatment plants(WWTPs) are not designed to remove these emerging pollutants andthey are thus released into the environment. The antiepileptic drugcarbamazepine (CBZ) and the non-steroidal anti-inflammatorydiclofenac (DCF) are two widely used pharmaceuticals, frequentlydetected in water bodies, including rivers and groundwater, inconcentrations ranging from ng L 1 to mg L 1. These two compoundswere classified as medium to high-risk pollutants in WWTP effluentsand surface waters. Also, CBZ has been suggested as a molecularmarker of wastewater contamination in surface water andgroundwater and the European Union included DCF in the watch listof substances Directive to be monitored. In the present study,biodegradation of CBZ and DCF by the bacterial strain Labrysportucalensis F11, a strain able to degrade other pharmaceuticalcompounds, was assessed; tests were performed with F11 as single carbon and energy source, as well as in presence of 5.9mM of sodiumacetate. In assays supplemented with 2.0 and 4.0 ?M of CBZ, thecompound was no longer detected in the bulk medium after 24hr and5days, respectively. Complete degradation was achieved in 21 daysfor 11.0 ?M and in 23 days for 21.0 ?M. For the highestconcentration tested (43.0 ?M), 95% of degradation was achieved in30days. Supplementation with acetate increased the degradation rateof CBZ, for all tested concentrations. In the case of DCF, whensupplemented as a single carbon source, approximately 70% of DCF(1.7, 3.3, 8.4, 17.5 and 34.0 ?M) was degraded in 30days. Completedegradation was achieved in the presence of acetate for all testedconcentrations, at higher degradation rates. The detection ofintermediates produced during DCF biodegradation was performedby UPLC-QTOF/MS/MS, which allowed the identification of a rangeof metabolites. Stoichiometric liberation of chorine occurred and nometabolites were detected at the end of the biodegradation assayssuggesting a complete mineralization of DCF. Strain Labrysportucalensis F11 proved to be able to degrade these two top priorityenvironmental contaminants and may be potentially useful forbiotechnological applications/environment remediation.

Autore Pugliese

• Mascolo Giuseppe

Tutti gli autori

• V. S. Bessa; I. S. Moreira; S. Murgolo; C. Piccirillo; G. Mascolo; P. M. L. Castro

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Anno di pubblicazione

2017

ISSN

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ISBN

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