Green and efficient disinfection of antibiotic-resistant bacteria via PI/H₂O₂ homogeneous system

The proliferation and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) significantly threaten human health and ecosystem. Periodate (PI) based advanced oxidation process has potentials for water purification but is limited by complex activators or activation process. Herein, we demonstrated that H₂O₂ could be used to activate PI, achieving efficient ARB disinfection performance. Particularly, we found that the PI/H₂O₂ system (0.1 mM for both oxidants) could inactivate ARB (Escherichia coli) within 35 min. The intracellular defense system could be attacked by HO^· radicals generated in the disinfection system, resulting in the inactivation of ARB. Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) released with the lysis of cell membrane could be further degraded by HO^· radicals. Moreover, we found that the PI/H₂O₂ system was effective to inactivate ARB in a broad range of ionic strengths, with coexisting common ions and humic acid, as well as in four typical actual water bodies. The PI/H₂O₂ system could also efficiently disinfect other types of bacteria and degrade typical organic contaminants. In addition, under sunlight irradiation, the ARB inactivation performance of the PI/H₂O₂ system could be greatly improved. This study provided a practical and efficient way for decontaminating ARB/ARGs-polluted water.