Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

The problem of contamination of aquatic ecosystems with antibiotics (a review)

This review examines the contamination of aquatic ecosystems by antibiotics, synthesizing global data on risks associated with antibiotic presence in ocean and freshwater environments, including effects on aquatic organisms and the promotion of antibiotic resistance. The authors assess quantitative and qualitative contamination using bivalves as bioindicators and evaluate the spread of resistance genes through aquatic biocenoses.

2023 Ribogospodarsʹka nauka Ukraïni 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Pharmaceuticals in Water: Risks to Aquatic Life and Remediation Strategies

This review examines how pharmaceutical drugs in waterways threaten aquatic life and potentially human health. The biggest concern is the rise of antibiotic resistance from drugs entering water through household and agricultural waste. While not specifically about microplastics, the topic is connected because microplastics can adsorb and transport pharmaceutical residues through water systems.

2023 Hydrobiology 99 citations
Article Tier 2

Evolution and Emergence of Antibiotic Resistance in Given Ecosystems: Possible Strategies for Addressing the Challenge of Antibiotic Resistance

This review traces the history of antibiotic resistance and examines how it evolves and spreads across aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Researchers discuss the ecological roles of antibiotics and the modern tools used to identify resistant organisms in various environments. The study highlights the ecotoxicological impact of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and explores potential strategies, including environmental monitoring, to address this growing public health challenge.

2022 Antibiotics 54 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
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

On the Generation, Impact and Removal of Antibiotic Resistance in the Water Environment

This review explains how antibiotic resistance develops and spreads through water environments — including rivers, groundwater, and wastewater. The findings are relevant to microplastics because plastic particles in water are known to accumulate antibiotic-resistant bacteria, potentially accelerating the spread of drug resistance through aquatic systems.

2023 BIO Web of Conferences 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of Antibiotic Pollution on the Bacterial Population within Surface Water with Special Focus on Mountain Rivers

This review examines antibiotic pollution in surface waters, with a particular focus on mountain rivers and pristine environments. Researchers found that even remote mountain areas are affected by antibiotic contamination, largely driven by intensive tourism and associated wastewater. The study highlights that sub-inhibitory concentrations of antibiotics in water can shift bacterial community composition and promote antibiotic resistance, underscoring the need for advanced wastewater treatment technologies.

2023 Water 148 citations
Article Tier 2

Accumulation of antibiotics in the environment: Have appropriate measures been taken to protect Canadian human and ecological health?

This review examines how antibiotics and other contaminants of emerging concern, including microplastics, are legally discharged into Canadian freshwater from treatment plants and accumulate in the environment. The buildup of these substances raises concerns about antibiotic resistance and ecosystem disruption, with potential downstream effects on human health through contaminated drinking water and food sources.

2024 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 21 citations
Article Tier 2

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

Researchers assessed the occurrence, fate, and environmental risk of antibiotics in wastewater from four pharmaceutical manufacturing plants in China and their receiving surface waters, detecting 13 antibiotics at concentrations of 57-727 ng/L with fluoroquinolones and macrolides as the dominant classes and identifying residual risks after wastewater treatment discharge.

2022 1 citations
Article Tier 2

A Review of the Distribution of Antibiotics in Water in Different Regions of China and Current Antibiotic Degradation Pathways

This review summarized the spatial and temporal distribution of antibiotic contamination across major Chinese water bodies, identifying livestock farming, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and aquaculture as primary sources and reviewing current biological and physicochemical degradation pathways.

2021 Frontiers in Environmental Science 161 citations
Article Tier 2

An Overview of the Impact of Pharmaceuticals on Aquatic Microbial Communities

This review provides an overview of how pharmaceutical pollutants in aquatic environments affect microbial communities, including biofilms in natural water systems. Researchers found that even at low environmental concentrations, pharmaceuticals can alter biofilm function and increase antimicrobial tolerance in bacteria. The study highlights the need for more research on how emerging pharmaceutical pollutants may contribute to antibiotic resistance and associated public health risks.

2022 Antibiotics 67 citations
Article Tier 2

Antimicrobial Resistance Development Pathways in Surface Waters and Public Health Implications

Researchers evaluated the pathways through which antibiotic-resistant bacteria develop and spread in surface waters, identifying healthcare facilities, wastewater, agricultural runoff, and wildlife as major vehicles. The study found that antibiotic residues, heavy metals, and even climate change drive the emergence of resistance in aquatic environments. The findings highlight that surface water contamination poses a growing public health threat, particularly for food and animal handlers who face higher exposure risk.

2022 Antibiotics 86 citations
Article Tier 2

Antibiotics in the Ghanaian Environment

This review documented the occurrence and environmental distribution of antibiotic residues in Ghanaian water bodies and agricultural environments, finding that widespread antibiotic use without adequate waste management is leading to rising antimicrobial resistance in the environment.

2023 Advances in logistics, operations, and management science book series 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Antibiotic and Non-Antibiotic Determinants of Antimicrobial Resistance: Insights from Water Ecosystems

This review explains how non-antibiotic pollutants like heavy metals, biocides, and microplastics are contributing to antibiotic resistance in water systems, beyond the well-known problem of antibiotic overuse. Wastewater treatment plants are hotspots where these pollutants interact with bacteria, promoting the spread of resistance genes through mobile genetic elements. The findings are concerning for human health because drug-resistant bacteria from water environments can ultimately reach people through drinking water and food.

2024 ACS ES&T Water 10 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

A Review of the Dissemination of Antibiotic Resistance through Wastewater Treatment Plants: Current Situation in Sri Lanka and Future Perspectives

This review examines how wastewater treatment plants contribute to the spread of antibiotic resistance in the environment, with a focus on the situation in Sri Lanka. Researchers found that conventional treatment processes often fail to fully eliminate antibiotic-resistant bacteria and resistance genes from effluent. The study calls for upgraded treatment technologies and better monitoring to address this growing public health concern.

2024 Life 4 citations
Article Tier 2

The Antimicrobial Resistance–Water–Corporate Interface: Exploring the Connections Between Antimicrobials, Water, and Pollution

This perspective review explores how various industries contribute to antibiotic resistance through water pollution, including pharmaceutical manufacturing runoff, agricultural practices, and plastic and microplastic contamination. Researchers highlight that water systems serve as breeding grounds where resistant bacteria develop and spread, with microplastics acting as carriers for these harmful microorganisms. The study calls for corporate accountability and better regulation to address this growing public health threat.

2025 Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Strategy to Combat Antibiotic Resistance Bacteria and Genes in Wastewater in Developing Countries

This review highlights strategies to reduce antibiotic-resistant bacteria and genes in wastewater in developing countries, emphasizing the need for improved treatment infrastructure, reduced antibiotic releases into the environment, and ongoing monitoring to protect public health.

2023 Preprints.org 2 citations
Article Tier 2

A Review on the Main Antibiotic Drugs Used in Fish Farming: Ecotoxicity, Characterization and Remediation

This review examines antibiotics used in fish farming and their ecotoxicological effects on aquatic ecosystems, noting that pharmaceutical residues accumulate in water and sediments and promote antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Understanding drug fate and effects in aquaculture environments is important for protecting both ecosystem health and the safety of farmed seafood.

2021 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of wastewater treatment plant effluent discharge on the antibiotic resistome in downstream aquatic environments: a mini review

This review summarizes how wastewater treatment plants release antibiotic-resistant bacteria and resistance genes into rivers and lakes through their treated water. Current treatment processes cannot fully remove these resistance factors, allowing them to spread in downstream water bodies and potentially reach humans through drinking water and the food chain. The review is relevant to microplastics research because microplastics in wastewater can serve as surfaces where resistant bacteria grow and spread.

2023 Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering 31 citations
Article Tier 2

Characterization of microplastics and their interaction with antibiotics in wastewater

Researchers characterized microplastics in wastewater and investigated their interactions with antibiotics, examining how microplastic surfaces adsorb antibiotic compounds and the implications for antibiotic transport and dissemination in wastewater treatment systems.

2025 e_Buah
Article Tier 2

Interaction of Microplastics with Antibiotics in Aquatic Environment: Distribution, Adsorption, and Toxicity

This review examines how microplastics and antibiotics interact in waterways, finding that microplastics can absorb antibiotics from the water and change their availability and toxicity to aquatic organisms. Critically, microplastics also provide surfaces where antibiotic resistance genes can accumulate and spread among bacteria. This is concerning for human health because it means microplastics in water could be accelerating the spread of antibiotic-resistant infections.

2021 Environmental Science & Technology 415 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

Antimicrobial and the Resistances in the Environment: Ecological and Health Risks, Influencing Factors, and Mitigation Strategies

This review examines how antimicrobial contamination in the environment contributes to the growing problem of antimicrobial resistance. Researchers found that residual antimicrobials from medical and agricultural use continuously enter ecosystems, promoting the spread of resistant bacteria and resistance genes. The study highlights environmental factors that are often overlooked and discusses strategies for reducing antimicrobial pollution and limiting resistance spread.

2023 Toxics 58 citations