The effects of pharmaceutical and personal care products on the behavior of Burkholderia cepacia isolated from drinking water

Abstract

The presence of pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) in water environments has been extensively reported, particularly at trace concentrations in drinking water (DW). Nevertheless, there is a lack of information on the possible effects of the presence of PPCPs on the microbiota of drinking water distribution systems (DWDS). This pioneer study aims to understand the effects of exposure to selected PPCPs (antipyrine – ANTP, caffeine – CAF, carbamazepine – CBZ, clofibric acid – CA, diclofenac sodium salt – DCF, galaxolide – HHCB, ibuprofen – IBP, tonalide – AHTN, tylosin – TY and trimethoprim - sulfamethoxazole – TMP-SMX) on the motility and biofilm formation of Burkholderia cepacia, a bacterium isolated from a DWDS. The effects of PPCPs on the susceptibility of B. cepacia to sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) and to the antibiotic combination TMP-SMX was also determined. The results demonstrated that inactivation of B. cepacia with NaOCl was more difficult when in the presence of TMP-SMX, ANTP and CAF. Changes were also found on swarming motility. Biofilms formed in the presence of CBZ and TMP-SMX were more susceptible to NaOCl action. The selected PPCPs had no remarkable effects on swimming motility, biofilm production and susceptibility to TMP-SMX. The overall results emphasize that the presence of some PPCPs in DWDS influence bacterial behavior and decrease the efficiency of DWDS disinfection with chlorine, affecting the microbiological safety of the delivered water.