Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 22, 2026

The Use of Chemostats in Microbial Systems Biology
Published on: October 14, 2013
Insights into the Fate and Removal of Antibiotics in Engineered Biological Treatment Systems: A Critical Review
Akashdeep Singh Oberoi, Yanyan Jia1, Huiqun Zhang
1Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering , The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology , Clear Water Bay , Hong Kong.
Abstract:
Antibiotics, the most frequently prescribed drugs of modern medicine, are extensively used for both human and veterinary applications. Antibiotics from different wastewater sources (e.g., municipal, hospitals, animal production, and pharmaceutical industries) ultimately are discharged into wastewater treatment plants. Sorption and biodegradation are the two major removal pathways of antibiotics during biological wastewater treatment processes. This review provides the fundamental insights into sorption mechanisms and biodegradation pathways of different classes of antibiotics with diverse physical-chemical attributes. Important factors affecting sorption and biodegradation behavior of antibiotics are also highlighted. Furthermore, this review also sheds light on the critical role of extracellular polymeric substances on antibiotics adsorption and their removal in engineered biological wastewater treatment systems. Despite major advancements, engineered biological wastewater treatment systems are only moderately effective (48-77%) in the removal of antibiotics. In this review, we systematically summarize the behavior and removal of different antibiotics in various biological treatment systems with discussion on their removal efficiency, removal mechanisms, critical bioreactor operating conditions affecting antibiotics removal, and recent innovative advancements. Besides, relevant background information including antibiotics classification, physical-chemical properties, and their occurrence in the environment from different sources is also briefly covered. This review aims to advance our understanding of the fate of various classes of antibiotics in engineered biological wastewater treatment systems and outlines future research directions.
Related Concept Videos
Antibiotic Selection
Review and Preview
Percentiles are a type of fractile that partition data into...
Review and Preview
Fates of Pyruvate
In aerobic organisms, pyruvate is metabolized via the citric acid cycle to produce reduced coenzymes NADH and FADH2. These coenzymes are then oxidized in the electron transport chain to produce ATP and, in the process, regenerate the NAD+ and FAD. As seen in some cell types and organisms, fermentation...
Critical Region, Critical Values and Significance Level
In hypothesis testing, a sample statistic is converted to a test statistic using z, t, or chi-square distribution. A critical region is an area under the curve in probability distributions demarcated by the critical value. When the test statistic falls in this region, it suggests that the null hypothesis must be rejected. As this region contains all those values of the...
Critical Values

