Traditional and Emerging Water Disinfection Technologies Challenging the Control of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria and Antibiotic Resistance Genes

Abstract

The emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the environment has created obstacles when treating infectious diseases with antibiotics. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) serve as reservoirs for ARB and ARGs and can disseminate them into the environment. It is important to understand and address these risks. Generally, professional disinfection processes have been used in WWTPs to disinfect the target water body, with the goal of eliminating pathogenic microorganisms in the water. However, ARGs are not generally considered, and antibiotic resistance has spread and developed through horizontal gene transfer (HGT). This Review provides a detailed overview of the application progress of different traditional and new disinfection technologies in removing ARB and ARGs, mainly focusing on the bacterial inactivation mechanisms of chlorination, ozonation, ultraviolet (UV) (including UVA, UVB, and UVC), sunlight, sunlight-dissolved organic matter (DOM), and photocatalysis (PC)/photoelectrocatalysis (PEC). In addition, this Review also focuses on the disinfection technology involved in the transfer of ARGs and clarifies the underlying transfer mechanisms in water environments. Furthermore, by linking the mechanisms of bacterial inactivation, the Review describes how SOS response and cell membrane permeability may be the key step in the conjugation, transformation, and transduction of ARGs. Finally, given the applications and current problems associated with traditional water disinfection technologies and light-based disinfection technologies in removing and controlling ARB and ARGs, this Review describes the current challenges and opportunities to facilitate the development of future disinfection technologies. The Review also highlights future research directions related to ARG transmission control.

Visible-Light Photocatalytic Chlorite Activation Mediated by Oxygen Vacancy Abundant Nd-Doped BiVO4 for Efficient Chlorine Dioxide Generation and Pollutant Degradation

“…Compared with the undamaged bacteria, the surfaces of damaged bacteria were torn or wrinkled (SI Figure S24) due to the destruction of cell membrane. ClO 2 inactivates bacteria by increasing the permeability of cell membranes and leaking intracellular enzyme outside the cell . Previous studies showed that DNA transformation of microrganism was not affected by ClO 2 .…”

“…In a previous study, we coupled vis-photocatalysis with chlorite activation (vis/chlorite) where ClO 2 – would be activated by photoinduced •OH to produce chlorine dioxide (ClO 2 ), promoting the norfloxacin degradation rate by 7.3 times over the vis-photocatalytic process alone . Moreover, ClO 2 not only improves degradation efficiency and eliminates biotoxicity by selectively attacking electron-donating groups in contaminant molecules, but also serves as a popular disinfectant to control water-borne pathogens . Based on the chlorite activation process, the vis/chlorite technique can simultaneously meet the needs of pollutant degradation and pathogen inactivation, emerging as a promising technique in water purification.…”

“…7 Moreover, ClO 2 not only improves degradation efficiency and eliminates biotoxicity by selectively attacking electron-donating groups in contaminant molecules, 8 but also serves as a popular disinfectant to control water-borne pathogens. 9 Based on the chlorite activation process, the vis/chlorite technique can simultaneously meet the needs of pollutant degradation and pathogen inactivation, emerging as a promising technique in water purification.…”

Human viruses lurking in the environment activated by excessive use of COVID-19 prevention supplies

“…Nevertheless, extravagant disinfection was found to be the villain of microbial resistance (Lu and Guo, 2021). Under disinfection, transforms of physiological state, e.g., increasing membrane permeability, SOS response and stress response offered an easier access for microorganisms to resistance ( Cai et al, 2021 ). Equipped with horizontal transfer, viruses served as antibiotic resistance gene pool ( Debroas and Siguret, 2019 ).…”

Adsorption and Photocatalytic Degradation of Tetracycline by Porous g-C3N4/TiO2

“…Residues are constantly released into the environment, aiding in the spread of resistance genes among bacteria. This endangers both human health and the stability of the ecosystem (Cai et al 2021). As a result, there is an urgent need to develop suitable methods for degrading TC.…”