Electron Beam Irradiation for Efficient Antibiotic Degradation in Aqueous Solutions
Anastasia Oprunenko1, Ulyana Bliznyuk2,3, Victoria Ipatova3
1Department of Chemistry, Lomonosov Moscow State University, GSP-1, 1-3 Leninskiye Gory, 119991 Moscow, Russia.
Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland)
|August 28, 2025
Summary
Electron beam irradiation effectively removes 98-99% of antibiotic residues from water. This study identifies optimal irradiation doses for water treatment by analyzing antibiotic degradation rates.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Analytical Chemistry
- Radiation Chemistry
Background:
- Antibiotic residues contaminate natural water systems due to extensive usage.
- Pharmaceutical pollution poses a significant environmental and health risk.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the degradation of common antibiotics (penicillins, tetracyclines, streptomycin, chloramphenicol) in aqueous solutions using electron beam irradiation.
- To determine the efficacy of different irradiation doses for antibiotic removal.
- To develop a quantitative marker for assessing antibiotic degradation.
Main Methods:
- Exposure of antibiotic solutions to 1 MeV accelerated electrons at doses of 0.1, 1, 3, and 7 kGy.
- Analysis of antibiotic degradation using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry (HPLC-HRMS).
- Development of a mathematical model to describe dose-dependent degradation kinetics and radiosensitivity.
Main Results:
- Irradiation at 7 kGy achieved 98-99% removal of antibiotics (15-30 mg/L initial concentration).
- Tetracycline exhibited a higher radiation-chemical yield compared to other antibiotics.
- The mathematical model revealed varying decomposition rates linked to antibiotic class radiosensitivity.
Conclusions:
- A novel quantitative marker for antibiotic degradation was developed using density functional theory and a mathematical model.
- This approach allows for the determination of antibiotic degradation extent and optimization of irradiation doses for industrial water treatment.
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