Concurrent mitigation and facile monitoring of xenobiotics by a highly efficient and recyclable nanoengineered catalyst

Abstract

Recurrent waves of novel COVID-19 and its variants have resulted in the usage of antimicrobials to hitherto unprecedented levels, aggravating the threat of antibiotic-resistant pathogens. We devised a facile yet robust nano-bio-engineering strategy for the detection, mitigation, and degradation of tetracycline and erythromycin antibiotics in water bodies. The strategy includes magnetic single-walled carbon nanotubes (MSCN) based adsorption and degradation of these antibiotics. Antibiotics were detected and their degradation was monitored using bioengineered biosensors showing high specificity and sensitivity (1.33 and 51.24 ppb for tetracycline and erythromycin, respectively). The MSCN followed pseudo-second-order kinetics with >75% adsorption of antibiotics. The degradation efficiency of >93% in 4 h at pH 7 and 313 K was attained by adding H2O2, activating the heterogeneous Fenton-like reaction-based degradation system. The universality of this approach was proven by showing the degradation of other xenobiotics. This strategy manifests a novel approach for mitigating xenobiotics and their detrimental environmental effects.