AsianScientist (Feb. 24, 2017) – Using high energy electron beam irradiation, researchers from China have developed a method to degrade antibiotic residues. Their findings, published in Scientific Reports, could help prevent the spread of antimicrobial resistance.
Antibiotics have been crucial in extending human lifespan by treating bacterial infections. However, antibiotic residues which are washed out into the environment could both harm human health and upset the ecological balance.
To lower the environmental impact of antibiotic residues, a team of researchers led by Professor Wu Zhengyan from Hefei Institute of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences developed a method to degrade residues lingering in medical intravenous infusion bottles.
Using amoxicillin, ofloxacin and cefradine as representatives of β-lactams, cephalosporins and quinolones antibiotics, Wu and his team identified conditions for the maximum degradation efficiency when using high energy electron beam irradiation. They also found that irradiation caused the antibiotics to break down into inorganic ions and alkane.
Further analysis showed that the degradation of antibiotic residues was mainly induced by hydroxyl (OH·) radicals generated during irradiation. They also found that substances coexisting with the antibiotic residues could affect the rate of degradation by reacting with the hydroxyl radicals.
The researchers hope that their simple and cost-effective method can be used to treat medical waste before it is disposed, thereby reducing the leaching of antibiotic residues into the environment.
The article can be found at: Wang et al. (2017) In Situ Degradation of Antibiotic Residues in Medical Intravenous Infusion Bottles Using High Energy Electron Beam Irradiation.
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Source: Chinese Academy of Sciences.
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