Elimination of antibiotic resistance genes and control of horizontal transfer risk by UV-based treatment of drinking water: A mini review

Highlights

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes are in water bodies.

UV/chlorination method is better to remove ARGs than UV or chlorination alone.

Research on UV/hydrogen peroxide to eliminate ARGs is forthcoming.

UV-based photocatalytic processes are effective to degrade ARGs.

Abstract

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) have been recognized as one of the biggest public health issues of the 21st century. Both ARB and ARGs have been determined in water after treatment with conventional disinfectants. Ultraviolet (UV) technology has been seen growth in application to disinfect the water. However, UV method alone is not adequate to degrade ARGs in water. Researchers are investigating the combination of UV with other oxidants (chlorine, hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), peroxymonosulfate (PMS), and photocatalysts) to harness the high reactivity of produced reactive species (Clž·, ClOž·ž, Clž₂·ž⁻, žž·OH, and SOž₄ž·⁻€) in such processes with constituents of cell (e.g., deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and its components) in order to increase the degradation efficiency of ARGs. This paper briefly reviews the current status of different UV-based treatments (UV/chlorination, UV/H₂O₂, UV/PMS, and UV-photocatalysis) to degrade ARGs and to control horizontal gene transfer (HGT) in water. The review also provides discussion on the mechanism of degradation of ARGs and application of q-PCR and gel electrophoresis to obtain insights of the fate of ARGs during UV-based treatment processes.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Antibiotic resistance bacteria / Advanced oxidation processes / Disinfection / Reactive chlorine species / Sulfate radicals / Reactive oxygen species

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Acknowledgements

V. K. Sharma thanks the Program of Environmental and Sustainability, SPH, TAMU for the support. C. Jinadatha was supported by the Central Texas Veterans Health Care System (Temple, Texas). The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

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