title: Enhanced Biodegradability of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products by Ionizing Radiation.
abstract: The radiolytic degradation of antibiotic compounds, including lincomycin (LMC), sulfamethoxazole (SMX), and tetracycline (TCN), and the change of biodegradability of the radiation-treated target compounds were evaluated. As a result, the degradation of target antibiotics by hydrolysis, biodegradation, and gamma irradiation showed a compound-dependent manner. However, the biodegradability of all target compounds was enhanced by the gamma irradiation. The enhanced biodegradability after gamma irradiation (2 kGy) followed the trend of LMC (18.89%)<SMX (28.33%)<TCN (36.62%), indicating that gamma irradiation might transform nonbiodegradable compounds into biodegradable. Consequently, the effective degradation of nonbiodegradable antibiotics can be accomplished by ionizing radiation followed by biodegradation. This result indicated that ionizing radiation technology would be useful to enhance biodegradability of the recalcitrant pollutants and can facilitate further degradation of residuals or intermediates in the effluent when discharged into surface water.
authors.affiliation: Advanced Radiation Technology Institute, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, 29 Geumgu-gil, Jeongeup-si, Jeollabuk-do, 580-185, Rep. of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyun Young
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: O-Mi
authors.initials: OM
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Tae-Hun
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Seungho
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D003358:Cosmetics / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D005720:Gamma Rays; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D003358:Cosmetics; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D014867:Water