Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Current Progress in Natural Degradation and Enhanced Removal Techniques of Antibiotics in the Environment: A Review

This review summarized natural and enhanced techniques for antibiotic degradation in the environment, finding that while natural processes like photolysis and biodegradation are limited, advanced technologies including biological, chemical, and physicochemical methods show promising removal efficiency.

2022 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 83 citations
Article Tier 2

The Application of Different Technologies for Removal of Rifampicin From Aquatic Environments: A Recent Review

This review examined the effectiveness of various technologies — including adsorption, photocatalysis, and biological treatment — for removing the antibiotic rifampicin from aquatic environments, where conventional wastewater plants fail to fully eliminate it.

2022 DÜMF Mühendislik Dergisi 4 citations
Article Tier 2

The research status, potential hazards and toxicological mechanisms of fluoroquinolone antibiotics in the environment

This review summarizes the occurrence, fate, and ecotoxicity of fluoroquinolone antibiotics across environmental media, examining their toxicity mechanisms in organisms from microbes to animals and their combined toxic effects when co-existing with other environmental contaminants.

2023 12 citations
Review Tier 2

Occurrence, Bioaccumulation, Metabolism and Ecotoxicity of Fluoroquinolones in the Aquatic Environment: A Review

This review examines fluoroquinolone antibiotic contamination in waterways across 32 countries, finding widespread pollution especially in developing nations. These antibiotics accumulate in aquatic organisms and move through the food chain, with toxicity varying by species and environmental conditions. The co-occurrence of antibiotics and microplastics in water is a growing concern, as microplastics can absorb and transport these drugs, potentially increasing human exposure.

2023 Toxics 61 citations
Article Tier 2

A review on tetracycline removal from aqueous systems by advanced treatment techniques

This review covers the occurrence of tetracycline antibiotics in aquatic environments and evaluates advanced treatment technologies — including adsorption, photocatalysis, and membrane processes — for their removal, identifying the most promising approaches based on efficiency and practical scalability.

2020 RSC Advances 300 citations
Article Tier 2

The Research Status, Potential Hazards and Toxicological Mechanisms of Fluoroquinolone Antibiotics in the Environment

This review summarizes the environmental presence and toxic effects of fluoroquinolone antibiotics, which are widely used in human and animal medicine. These antibiotics can harm a range of organisms through mechanisms like oxidative stress and DNA damage. While not directly about microplastics, it is relevant because microplastics can carry adsorbed antibiotics through the environment, potentially amplifying their spread and impact.

2023 Antibiotics 77 citations
Article Tier 2

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products in water and wastewater: a review of treatment processes and use of photocatalyst immobilized on functionalized carbon in AOP degradation

This review examines the presence of pharmaceutical and personal care product contaminants in water and wastewater, and evaluates treatment approaches including photocatalytic degradation using immobilized catalysts on functionalized carbon materials. Researchers found that conventional wastewater treatment often fails to fully remove these emerging contaminants, which can persist in the environment and cause endocrine disruption. The study highlights advanced oxidation processes as a promising approach for breaking down these resistant compounds.

2020 BMC Chemistry 230 citations
Article Tier 2

Advancements in microalgae-mediated technologies for antibiotic removal from wastewater: a review

Researchers reviewed microalgae-based technologies for removing antibiotics from wastewater, examining the mechanisms of removal — including adsorption, biodegradation, photodegradation, and hydrolysis — and how microalgae perform in combination with advanced oxidation and photocatalysis systems, while identifying key operational parameters such as pH, temperature, and light intensity that influence treatment efficiency.

2026 Biodegradation
Article Tier 2

Selected widely prescribed pharmaceuticals: toxicity of the drugs and the products of their photochemical degradation to aquatic organisms

Researchers reviewed the environmental fate of widely prescribed pharmaceuticals in surface waters, examining both the parent drugs and their photochemical degradation products. The study found that some breakdown products may be more toxic to aquatic organisms than the original drugs, highlighting how pharmaceutical pollution interacts with other contaminants including microplastics in water systems.

2024 Journal of Applied Biomedicine 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Biodegradação e biorremediação de fármacos, cosméticos e produtos de higiene pessoal

This chapter reviews biological degradation and bioremediation techniques for removing pharmaceuticals and personal care product chemicals from wastewater, as these compounds are regularly discharged into water sources and harm aquatic ecosystems. Complete removal of these emerging contaminants remains technically challenging and represents an active area of environmental research.

2022 Mérida Publishers eBooks
Article Tier 2

Fate and behaviour of pharmaceutical and personal care products in wastewater

This review covers the fate and behavior of pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) in wastewater treatment systems, examining removal efficiencies, transformation products, and environmental persistence. The authors identify hormones, antibiotics, and UV filters as particularly resistant to conventional treatment and highlight advanced oxidation as a promising removal strategy.

2024 IWA Publishing eBooks
Article Tier 2

Pharmaceutically active micropollutants: origin, hazards and removal

This review summarizes existing research on pharmaceutical pollutants -- such as antibiotics, painkillers, and hormones -- found in water systems around the world. While focused on drug contamination, the paper notes that microplastics can act as carriers for these pharmaceutical chemicals, potentially concentrating them and increasing human exposure through drinking water. Conventional water treatment methods are often unable to fully remove these micropollutants.

2024 Frontiers in Microbiology 37 citations
Article Tier 2

Norfloxacin removal by ultraviolet-activated sodium percarbonate and sodium hypochlorite: process optimization and anion effect

This paper is not about microplastics; it evaluates UV-activated chemical processes for removing the antibiotic norfloxacin from water.

2023 Water Science & Technology 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Progressive Biocatalysts for the Treatment of Aqueous Systems Containing Pharmaceutical Pollutants

This review covers the occurrence of pharmaceutical pollutants across diverse water sources and evaluates biological treatment approaches including enzymes and whole cells as catalysts for their degradation, identifying promising biocatalysts and knowledge gaps for effective pharmaceutical wastewater treatment.

2023 Life 18 citations
Review Tier 2

Proclivities for prevalence and treatment of antibiotics in the ambient water: a review

This review critically examines the prevalence of antibiotics in ambient water systems and the challenges of treating antibiotic-contaminated water. Researchers found that antibiotic resistance in water environments has emerged as a major public health concern, driven by pharmaceutical runoff and inadequate wastewater treatment. The study evaluates various treatment technologies and emphasizes the need for better monitoring and removal strategies to address this growing threat to water quality.

2020 npj Clean Water 161 citations
Article Tier 2

A Brief Review of Treatment Methods for Certain Emerging Contaminants in Domestic and Industrial Effluents

This review summarizes emerging contaminant treatment methods for domestic and industrial effluents, covering advanced oxidation, membrane filtration, adsorption, and biological approaches for removing pharmaceuticals, microplastics, and other persistent pollutants.

2024 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Advances in chemical removal and degradation technologies for microplastics in the aquatic environment: A review

This review summarizes recent advances in chemical methods for breaking down microplastics in water, comparing the effectiveness of various techniques including advanced oxidation processes. Developing better ways to destroy microplastics in water is important for public health because current wastewater treatment plants cannot fully remove these persistent particles before water reaches consumers.

2024 Marine Pollution Bulletin 45 citations
Article Tier 2

The Occurrence of Micropollutants in the Aquatic Environment and Technologies for Their Removal

This review summarizes the growing problem of micropollutants in water, including microplastics, pharmaceuticals, and industrial chemicals, and evaluates advanced treatment methods to remove them. The research is important for human health because conventional water treatment plants cannot effectively filter out these contaminants, meaning people may be regularly exposed through tap water.

2025 Processes 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Photocatalytic and biological technologies for elimination of microplastics in water: Current status

This review examines emerging photocatalytic and biological technologies for breaking down microplastics in water, since conventional treatment facilities can capture but not fully destroy these particles. Researchers found that while photocatalysis and microbial degradation show promise, their effectiveness varies widely and the underlying mechanisms are only partly understood. The study highlights the urgent need for more efficient solutions to eliminate rather than simply filter out microplastic pollution from water supplies.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 137 citations
Article Tier 2

Research progress and application exploration of techniques to remove emerging contaminants from water environment

This review summarizes technologies for removing emerging contaminants — including pharmaceuticals, microplastics, and pesticides — from water, covering adsorption, membrane filtration, advanced oxidation, and biological methods. The authors assess the effectiveness and limitations of each approach for real-world water treatment.

2023 E3S Web of Conferences 2 citations
Article Tier 2

The Photocatalytic Degradation of Enrofloxacin Using an Ecofriendly Natural Iron Mineral: The Relationship Between the Degradation Routes, Generated Byproducts, and Antimicrobial Activity of Treated Solutions

This paper is not relevant to microplastics research; it investigates the photocatalytic degradation of the antibiotic enrofloxacin in water using a natural iron mineral, focusing on pharmaceutical contamination rather than plastic particles.

2024 Molecules 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanophotocatalytic synergistic degradation of antibiotics and microplastics: Mechanisms, material design, and environmental applications

This review examines how microplastics and antibiotics interact in water during photocatalytic treatment, finding that microplastics can both help (by shuttling electrons) and hinder (by shielding light or hosting biofilms) the degradation process, depending on conditions. Aged microplastics — which have more surface oxygen groups — adsorb more antibiotics, making them tougher composite targets for treatment systems. Understanding these interactions is essential for designing water purification systems that can handle the combined pollution reality of modern waterways.

2026 Environmental Technology & Innovation
Article Tier 2

The Fate and Occurrence of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria and Antibiotic Resistance Genes during Advanced Wastewater Treatment and Disinfection: A Review

This review examines how advanced wastewater treatment and disinfection methods perform at removing antibiotic-resistant bacteria and their resistance genes. While methods like UV, ozone, and membrane filtration reduce resistance levels, none fully eliminate them, and some treatments can even promote gene transfer. Since wastewater plants are key nodes where antibiotic resistance spreads to the environment, improving these treatment processes is critical for public health.

2023 Water 47 citations
Article Tier 2

Occurrence, fate, and risk assessment of antibiotics in typical pharmaceutical manufactories and receiving water bodies from different regions

Researchers surveyed four pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities in China and found thirteen different antibiotics in their wastewater and nearby receiving water bodies at concentrations up to 727 nanograms per liter. Fluoroquinolones and macrolides were the most prevalent classes, and while wastewater treatment removed some antibiotics, significant residues persisted in the environment. The study highlights pharmaceutical manufacturing as an important source of antibiotic pollution in waterways.

2023 PLoS ONE 52 citations