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Immobilized β-lactamase on Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles for degradation of β-lactam antibiotics in wastewater

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Abstract

The emergence of antibiotics residues in pharmaceutical industrial wastewater has been a significant environment problem. However, current methods of treating antibiotic-polluted wastewater are inefficient, of high cost and time-consuming. In this study, highly effective enzymatic Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles were developed, which is extremely simple and can degrade antibiotics in a fast manner at a low cost. β-Lactamase, a representative enzyme for β-lactam antibiotic degradation, was covalently immobilized on the surface of magnetic nanoparticles modified with amino groups by a simple cross-linking process. The immobilized β-lactamase displayed a wider pH and temperature range for penicillin G degradation than the free enzyme. Meanwhile, the thermostability and storage stability of the immobilized β-lactamase were improved. Fifty milligrams magnetic nanoparticles immobilized with β-lactamase can thoroughly degrade 100 mL penicillin G (5–50 mg L−1) within 5 min. Even if the β-lactamase immobilized on the nanoparticles was reused 35 times in the 5 mg L−1 penicillin G solution, it still kept more than 95% degradation efficiency. These suggest that magnetic nanoparticles immobilized with β-lactamase have a sufficient capacity for degrading antibiotics in wastewater and will serve as a practical and economical solution to antibiotic pollution in pharmaceutical industrial wastewater treatment.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31371014).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Education Ministry Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering, Tianjin, 300072, People’s Republic of China

    X. J. Gao, X. J. Fan & Z. Q. Ge

  2. Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, 300193, People’s Republic of China

    X. P. Chen

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  1. X. J. Gao
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Correspondence to Z. Q. Ge.

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Editorial responsibility: M. Abbaspour.

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Gao, X.J., Fan, X.J., Chen, X.P. et al. Immobilized β-lactamase on Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles for degradation of β-lactam antibiotics in wastewater. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 15, 2203–2212 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-017-1596-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-017-1596-4

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