UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE NUEVO LEÓN

FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS QUÍMICAS

LICENCIADO EN QUÍMICA INDUSTRIAL

Semestre: Agosto – diciembre 2023

PIA

Contamination of water with drugs

Competencia comunicativa

Responsable de la materia:
Dra. María Fernanda Retana Betancourt

Brenda Liset Coronado García

1749781

San Nicolás de los Garza, N. L. 22 de noviembre de 2023

Worldwide, consumption, low metabolization rate, and inappropriate use of antibiotics
have caused these pharmaceutical compounds to be discharged into the environment,
presenting low degradability in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) [1], generating
pollution in water bodies. This type of pollutant causes significant damage to flora and
fauna in addition to generating resistant microorganisms and pathogens, which
generates consequences for human health.

One of the most widely used semi-synthetic antibiotics is amoxicillin, which is an

antibiotic derived from penicillin-type amino penicillin and acts efficiently against a broad
spectrum of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria [2]. This drug is used to treat
infections such as bronchitis, pneumonia, gonorrhea, urinary tract infections, and
otolaryngological infections [3]. Amoxicillin has been detected in various bodies of water
such as groundwater, sea and river, where concentrations of up to 24 μg/L have been
reported and the presence of this contaminant has even been reported in drinking water
[4].

Drugs, specifically antibiotics, are compounds that are difficult to degrade by

conventional biological treatments carried out in treatment plants. In the search for more
efficient treatment processes, advanced oxidation processes (AOP) have been
proposed as an alternative [5] based on the generation of hydroxyl radicals (•OH), a
highly oxidizing transient species (2.8 V) that produces a change in the chemical
structure of the pollutant, generating its degradation and eventually mineralization,
transforming it into CO2, H2O and by-products of lower toxicity.

Within the PAO, there are studies where heterogeneous photocatalysis has been
evaluated to degrade amoxicillin, which is based on the absorption of radiant energy in
a semiconductor solid, this to cause an electron from the valence band to migrate
towards the conduction band, and as a consequence leaves a positive gap in the
valence band. The photogenerated species migrate to the catalyst surface to generate
reactive species (•OH and •O2−) that participate in oxide/reduction reactions with the
compounds adsorbed on the catalyst surface [6].

For example, Beshkar et al. in 2021 they evaluated the photocatalytic activity of the
CuI/FePO4 compound (50 mg) for the degradation of amoxicillin (10 mg/L) under UV-Vis
radiation. The synthesis was carried out by a reflux-assisted coprecipitation method,
starting from Fe (NO3)3•9H2O, Cu(NO3)2•3H2O and (NH4)H2PO4. The material exhibited
a bandgap energy of 3.03 eV and a degradation efficiency of 90% in 2 h [7].

References
1. Çağlar Yılmaz H, Akgeyik E, Bougarrani S, El Azzouzi M, Erdemoğlu S.
Photocatalytic degradation of amoxicillin using Co-doped TiO 2 synthesized by
reflux method and monitoring of degradation products by LC–MS/MS. J Dispers
Sci Technol [Internet]. 2020;41(3):414–25. Disponible en:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01932691.2019.1583576
2. Escorcia Gómez, E., & Flórez Arrieta, E. E. (2013). Degradación de amoxicilina
mediante fotocatálisis solar heterogénea con TiO2 soportado (Doctoral
dissertation, Universidad de Cartagena).
3. Juárez N, Ivana J. Aplicación de la fotocatálisis solar en la degradación de
antibióticos. 2007 [citado el 15 de marzo de 2023]; Disponible en:
http://repositorio.udec.cl/jspui/handle/11594/6622
4. Martínez-Alcalá I, Soto J, Lahora A. Antibiotics as emerging pollutants.
Ecotoxicological risk and control in wastewater and reclaimed water.
Ecosistemas [Internet]. 2020;29(3). Disponible en:
http://dx.doi.org/10.7818/ecos.2070
5. Gong Y, Wu Y, Xu Y, Li L, Li C, Liu X, et al. All-solid-state Z-scheme CdTe/TiO 2
heterostructure photocatalysts with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic
degradation of antibiotic waste water. Chem Eng J [Internet]. 2018;350:257–67.
Disponible en: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2018.05.186.
6. Nevárez-Martínez, M. C., Espinoza-Montero, P. J., Quiroz-Chávez, F. J., &
Ohtani, B. (2017). Fotocatálisis: inicio, actualidad y perspectivas a través del
TiO2. Avances en Química, 12(2-3), 45-59.
7. Beshkar F, Al-Nayili A, Amiri O, Salavati-Niasari M, Mousavi-Kamazani M. Visible
light-induced degradation of amoxicillin antibiotic by novel CuI/FePO 4 p-n
heterojunction photocatalyst and photodegradation mechanism. J Alloys Compd
[Internet]. 2022;892(162176):162176. Disponible en:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2021.162176