Work

Anticancer drugs alter active nitrogen-cycling communities with effects on the nitrogen removal efficiency of a continuous-flow aerobic granular sludge system

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: There is increasing awareness of the presence of anticancer drugs (ACDs) in wastewater. Nonetheless, how ACDs affect the performance of wastewater treatment systems and their microbial populations remains largely unclear. This study investigated the effects of three common ACDs—cyclophosphamide, tamoxifen, and methotrexate—at varying concentrations on physicochemical parameters, the efficiency of drug removal, abundance of active microbial communities, nitrifiers (amoA gene from ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and archaea) and denitrifiers (napA, narG, nirK, nirS, nosZ genes), and the biodiversity of the active prokaryotic communities in an aerobic granular sludge (AGS) system operated in a continuous-flow reactor. The concentration level of ACDs determines variations in biomass density, granule integrity, and removal efficiencies of organic matter (OM) and total nitrogen. Both medium and high ACD concentrations negatively impact these physicochemical parameters. The findings revealed that AGS, functioning within a continuous system could help remove ACDs, but removal efficiencies depended on the specific drug and concentration applied. When ACDs were present at medium to high concentrations, there was a marked reduction in the abundance of active bacterial and archaeal communities, including nitrifiers and denitrifiers, was observed, alongside a decline in microbial diversity and a transformation in community composition. Specific bacterial genera, which is crucial for OM degradation, nitrification and denitrification were identified as particularly sensitive to anticancer drugs. Our findings highlight the need for monitoring and managing anticancer drugs in wastewater systems, as they can substantially alter treatment performance, nitrogen-cycling communities, and bacterial community composition.

Source: Chemosphere

DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2025.144279

Authors: Antonio Castellano-Hinojosa, Manuel J. Gallardo-Altamirano, Nicoly Dal Santo Svierzoski, Clementina Pozo, Jesús González-López, Alejandro González-Martínez

Institutions: Universidad de Granada, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro

Language: English

Topic: Wastewater Treatment and Nitrogen Removal

Subfield: Pollution

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Clean water and sanitation, Good health and well-being

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $4,010