Assessing the Fungal Simultaneous Removal Efficiency of Carbamazepine, Diclofenac and Ibuprofen in Aquatic Environment

Laccase-based biocatalytic systems application in sustainable degradation of pharmaceutically active contaminants

The outflow of pharmaceutically active chemicals (PhACs) exerts a negative impact on biological systems even at extremely low concentrations. For instance, enormous threats to human and aquatic species have resulted from the widespread use of antibiotics in ecosystems, which stimulate the emergence and formation of antibiotic-resistant bacterial species and associated genes. Additionally, it is challenging to eliminate these PhACs by employing conventional physicochemical water treatment techniques. Enzymatic approaches, including laccase, have been identified as a promising alternative to eliminate a broad array of PhACs from water matrices. However, their application in environmental bioremediation is hindered by several factors, including the enzyme's stability and its location in the aqueous environment. Such obstacles may be surmounted by employing laccase immobilization, which enables enhanced stability (including inactivation caused by the substrate), and thus improved catalysis. This review emphasizes the potential hazards of PhACs to aquatic organisms within the detection concentration range of ngL-1 to µgL-1, as well as the deployment of laccase-based multifunctional biocatalytic systems for the environmentally friendly mitigation of anticancer drugs, analgesics/NSAIDs, antibiotics, antiepileptic agents, and beta blockers as micropollutants. This approach could reduce the underlying toxicological consequences. In addition, current developments, potential applications, and viewpoints have focused on computer-assisted investigations of laccase-PhACs binding at enzyme cavities and degradability prediction.

Impact of veterinary pharmaceuticals on environment and their mitigation through microbial bioremediation

Veterinary medications are constantly being used for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases in livestock. However, untreated veterinary drug active compounds are interminably discharged into numerous water bodies and terrestrial ecosystems, during production procedures, improper disposal of empty containers, unused medication or animal feed, and treatment procedures. This exhaustive review describes the different pathways through which veterinary medications enter the environment, discussing the role of agricultural practices and improper disposal methods. The detrimental effects of veterinary drug compounds on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems are elaborated with examples of specific veterinary drugs and their known impacts. This review also aims to detail the mechanisms by which microbes degrade veterinary drug compounds as well as highlighting successful case studies and recent advancements in microbe-based bioremediation. It also elaborates on microbial electrochemical technologies as an eco-friendly solution for removing pharmaceutical pollutants from wastewater. Lastly, we have summarized potential innovations and challenges in implementing bioremediation on a large scale under the section prospects and advancements in this field.

Biotransformation activities of fungal strain apiotrichum sp. IB-1 to ibuprofen and naproxen

Ibuprofen (IBU) and naproxen (NPX), as widely prescribed non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), are largely produced and consumed globally, leading to frequent and ubiquitous detection in various aqueous environments. Previously, the microbial transformation of them has been given a little attention, especially with the isolated fungus. A yeast-like Apiotrichum sp. IB-1 has been isolated and identified, which could simultaneously transform IBU (5 mg/L) and NPX (2.5 mg/L) with maximum efficiencies of 95.77% and 88.31%, respectively. For mono-substrate, the transformation efficiency of IB-1 was comparable to that of co-removal conditions, higher than most of isolates so far. IBU was oxidized mainly through hydroxylation (m/z of 221, 253) and NPX was detoxified mainly via demethylation (m/z of 215) as shown by UPLC-MS/MS results. Based on transcriptome analysis, the addition of IBU stimulated the basic metabolism like TCA cycle. The transporters and respiration related genes were also up-regulated accompanied with higher expression of several dehydrogenase, carboxylesterase, dioxygenase and oxidoreductase encoding genes, which may be involved in the transformation of IBU. The main functional genes responsible for IBU and NPX transformation for IB-1 should be similar in view of previous studies, which needs further confirmation. This fungus would be useful for potential bioremediation of NSAIDs pollution and accelerate the discovery of functional oxidative genes and enzymes different from those of bacteria.

Reproducibility in nontarget screening (NTS) of environmental emerging contaminants: Assessing different HLB SPE cartridges and instruments

Non-targeted screening (NTS) methods are integral in environmental research for detecting emerging contaminants. However, their efficacy can be influenced by variations in hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) solid phase extraction (SPE) cartridges and high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) instruments across different laboratories. In this study, we scrutinized the influence of five HLB SPE cartridges (Nano, Weiqi, CNW, Waters, and J&K) and four LC-HRMS platforms (Agilent, Waters, Thermo, and AB SCIEX) on the identification of emerging environmental contaminants. Our results demonstrate that 87.6 % of the target compounds and over 59.6 % of the non-target features were consistently detected across all tested HLB cartridges, with an overall 71.2 % universally identified across the four LC-HRMS systems. Discrepancies in detection rates were primarily attributable to variations in retention time stability, mass stability of precursors and fragments, system cleanliness affecting fold change and p-values, and fragment response. These findings confirm the necessity of refining parameter criteria for NTS. Moreover, our study confirms the efficacy of the PyHRMS tool in analyzing and processing data from multiple instrumental platforms, reinforcing its utility for multi-platform NTS. Overall, our findings underscore the reliability and robustness of NTS methods in identifying potential water contaminants, while also highlighting factors that may influence these outcomes.

Removal of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in the liquid culture of Phanerochaete chrysosporium

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is becoming a concern due to its persistence, bioaccumulation, and potential harmful effects on humans and the environment. In this study, the fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium (P. chrysosporium) was used to remove the PFOA in liquid culture system. The results showed that the average activities of laccase (Lac), lignin peroxidase (LiP), and manganese peroxidase (MnP) enzymes secreted by P. chrysosporium were 0.0003 U/mL, 0.013 U/mL, and 0.0059 U/mL, respectively, during the incubation times of 0-75 days. The pH of 3 and incubation time of 45-55 days were the optimum parameters for the three enzymes activities. The enzyme activities in P. chrysosporium incubation system were firstly inhibited by adding PFOA and then they were enhanced after 14 days. The maximum removal efficiency of PFOA (69.23%) was achieved after 35 days in P. chrysosporium incubation system with an initial PFOA concentration of 0.002 mM and no veratryl alcohol (VA). Adsorption was not a main pathway for PFOA removal and the PFOA adsorbed in fungi mycelial mat accounted for merely 1.91%. The possible products of PFOA contained partially fluorinated aldehyde, alcohol, and aromatic ring. These partially fluorinated compounds might result from PFOA degradation via a combination of cross-coupling and rearrangement of free radicals.

The potential of fungi in the bioremediation of pharmaceutically active compounds: a comprehensive review

The ability of fungal species to produce a wide range of enzymes and metabolites, which act synergistically, makes them valuable tools in bioremediation, especially in the removal of pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) from contaminated environments. PhACs are compounds that have been specifically designed to treat or alter animal physiological conditions and they include antibiotics, analgesics, hormones, and steroids. Their detrimental effects on all life forms have become a source of public outcry due their persistent nature and their uncontrolled discharge into various wastewater effluents, hospital effluents, and surface waters. Studies have however shown that fungi have the necessary metabolic machinery to degrade PhACs in complex environments, such as soil and water, in addition they can be utilized in bioreactor systems to remove PhACs. In this regard, this review highlights fungal species with immense potential in the biodegradation of PhACs, their enzymatic arsenal as well as the probable mechanism of biodegradation. The challenges encumbering the real-time application of this promising bioremediative approach are also highlighted, as well as the areas of improvement and future perspective. In all, this paper points researchers to the fact that fungal bioremediation is a promising strategy for addressing the growing issue of pharmaceutical contamination in the environment and can help to mitigate the negative impacts on ecosystems and human health.

Ligninolytic enzyme activity and removal efficiency of pharmaceuticals in a water matrix by fungus Rhizopus sp. Isolated from cassava

Residual amounts of pharmaceutical compounds (PhCs) and by-products are continually released into surface water with effluents from conventional wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). This study evaluated the ability of fungal isolate to remove selected PhCs [carbamazepine (CBZ), diclofenac (DCF) and ibuprofen (IBP)] from wastewater. The fungus used was Rhizopus sp. which was isolated from tuberous roots of cassava (Manihot esculenta). The isolate exhibited an important removal efficiency up to 100% and this was linked to ligninolytic enzymatic activity for lignin peroxidase (15.29 ± 2.69U/L) and manganese peroxidase (85.22 ± 4.26U/L), except laccase. This activity was optimum on day 9 of treatment. PhC metabolites were identified during the experiment revealing the existence of a biotransformation process catalysed by the isolated fungus. The disappearance of PhCs was attributed to their biosorption and biotransformation. However, it was not possible to establish a relationship between the ligninolytic enzymatic activity and the removal efficiency, which leads to the conclusion that there are other fungal metabolites which also play an important role in the biotransformation and biodegradation of the selected PhCs.