title: Characterization of extracellular polymeric substances in biofilms under long-term exposure to ciprofloxacin antibiotic using fluorescence excitation-emission matrix and parallel factor analysis.
abstract: The presence of antibiotic residues in the environment has been regarded as an emerging concern due to their potential adverse environmental consequences such as antibiotic resistance. However, the interaction between antibiotics and extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs) of biofilms in wastewater treatment systems is not entirely clear. In this study, the effect of ciprofloxacin (CIP) antibiotic on biofilm EPS matrix was investigated and characterized using fluorescence excitation-emission matrix (EEM) and parallel factor (PARAFAC) analysis. Physicochemical analysis showed that the proteins were the major EPS fraction, and their contents increased gradually with an increase in CIP concentration (0-300 μg/L). Based on the characterization of biofilm tightly bound EPS (TB-EPS) by EEM, three fluorescent components were identified by PARAFAC analysis. Component C1 was associated with protein-like substances, and components C2 and C3 belonged to humic-like substances. Component C1 exhibited an increasing trend as the CIP addition increased. Pearson's correlation results showed that CIP correlated significantly with the protein contents and component C1, while strong correlations were also found among UV254, dissolved organic carbon, humic acids, and component C3. A combined use of EEM-PARAFAC analysis and chemical measurements was demonstrated as a favorable approach for the characterization of variations in biofilm EPS in the presence of CIP antibiotic.
authors.affiliation: College of Environmental Science and Engineering; State Environmental Protection Engineering Center for Pollution Treatment and Control in Textile Industry, Donghua University, 2999 North Renmin Road, Songjiang District, Shanghai, 201620, China.
authors.forename: Chaochao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: College of Environmental Science and Engineering; State Environmental Protection Engineering Center for Pollution Treatment and Control in Textile Industry, Donghua University, 2999 North Renmin Road, Songjiang District, Shanghai, 201620, China. pingao@dhu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Pin
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8762-5844
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: College of Environmental Science and Engineering; State Environmental Protection Engineering Center for Pollution Treatment and Control in Textile Industry, Donghua University, 2999 North Renmin Road, Songjiang District, Shanghai, 201620, China.
authors.forename: Fan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: College of Environmental Science and Engineering; State Environmental Protection Engineering Center for Pollution Treatment and Control in Textile Industry, Donghua University, 2999 North Renmin Road, Songjiang District, Shanghai, 201620, China.
authors.forename: Dongxuan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: An
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, 28223, USA.
authors.forename: Mariya
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Munir
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Environmental Sciences and Technology, Xinjiang Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry; Key Laboratory of Functional Materials and Devices for Special Environments, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, 830011, China.
authors.forename: Hanzhong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: College of Environmental Science and Engineering; State Environmental Protection Engineering Center for Pollution Treatment and Control in Textile Industry, Donghua University, 2999 North Renmin Road, Songjiang District, Shanghai, 201620, China.
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.affiliation: College of Environmental Science and Engineering; State Environmental Protection Engineering Center for Pollution Treatment and Control in Textile Industry, Donghua University, 2999 North Renmin Road, Songjiang District, Shanghai, 201620, China. machunyan@dhu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Chunyan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ma
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D018441:Biofilms; D002939:Ciprofloxacin; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D006812:Humic Substances; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D006812:Humic Substances; D002939:Ciprofloxacin
keywords: Biofilm; Biological aerated filter; Ciprofloxacin; Extracellular polymeric substance; Fluorescence excitation-emission matrix; Parallel factor analysis