Zhou Zhiruo, Shen Zhurui, Cheng Zhihui, Zhang Guan, Li Mingmei, Li Yi, Zhan Sihui, Crittenden John C
MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Environmental Remediation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China.
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China.
Sci Bull (Beijing). 2020 Dec 30;65(24):2107-2119. doi: 10.1016/j.scib.2020.07.015. Epub 2020 Jul 12.
Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) have been applied to address multiple environmental concerns including antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). ARGs have shown an increasing threat to human health, and they are either harbored by antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) or free in the environment. However, the control of ARGs has been substantially limited by their low concentration and the limited knowledge about their interfacial behavior. Herein, a novel AOP catalyst, Ag/TiO/graphene oxide (GO), combined with a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) ultrafiltration membrane was designed with a synergistic interfacial adsorption and oxidation function to inactivate ARGs with high efficiency in both model solutions and in secondary wastewater effluent, especially when the residue concentration was low. Further analysis showed that the mineralization of bases and phosphodiesters mainly caused the inactivation of ARGs. Moreover, the interfacial adsorption and oxidation processes of ARGs were studied at the molecular level. The results showed that GO was rich in sp backbones and functional oxygen groups, which efficiently captured and enriched the ARGs via π-π interactions and hydrogen bonds. Therefore, the photogenerated active oxygen species attack the ARGs by partially overcoming the kinetic problems in this process. The Ag/TiO/GO catalyst was further combined with a PVDF membrane to test its potential in wastewater treatment applications. This work offers an efficient method and a corresponding material for the inactivation and mineralization of intra/extracellular ARGs. Moreover, the molecular-level understanding of ARG behaviors on a solid-liquid interface will inspire further control strategies of ARGs in the future.
高级氧化工艺（AOPs）已被应用于解决包括抗生素抗性基因（ARGs）在内的多种环境问题。ARGs对人类健康的威胁日益增加，它们要么存在于抗生素抗性细菌（ARB）中，要么游离于环境中。然而，由于ARGs浓度低以及对其界面行为的了解有限，对它们的控制受到了很大限制。在此，设计了一种新型AOP催化剂Ag/TiO/氧化石墨烯（GO），并将其与聚偏氟乙烯（PVDF）超滤膜相结合，具有协同界面吸附和氧化功能，可在模型溶液和二级废水流出物中高效灭活ARGs，尤其是当残留浓度较低时。进一步分析表明，碱基和磷酸二酯的矿化是导致ARGs失活的主要原因。此外，还在分子水平上研究了ARGs的界面吸附和氧化过程。结果表明，GO富含sp骨架和功能性氧基团，通过π-π相互作用和氢键有效地捕获和富集了ARGs。因此，光生活性氧物种通过部分克服该过程中的动力学问题来攻击ARGs。将Ag/TiO/GO催化剂进一步与PVDF膜结合，以测试其在废水处理应用中的潜力。这项工作为细胞内/外ARGs的灭活和矿化提供了一种有效的方法和相应的材料。此外，对ARGs在固液界面行为的分子水平理解将在未来激发对ARGs的进一步控制策略。
