Photocatalytic Degradation of Ciprofloxacin: A Combined Experimental and Theoretical Study Using Curcumin and Hydrogen Peroxide

Photocatalytic Degradation of Ciprofloxacin: A Combined Experimental and Theoretical Study Using Curcumin and Hydrogen Peroxide

Contamination of soil, water, and wastewater by pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics, is a global health problem. This work evaluated the use of a natural compound, curcumin (CUR), as a homogeneous photocatalyst, together with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as a benign oxidant, to promote the photodegra...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Separations Vol. 11; no. 9; p. 260
Main Authors: de Paiva, Flórida L. P, Silva, Maria Vivian C, Mendonça, Ana Lara F, Araújo, Cristiane S, Sallum, Lóide O, de Aguiar, Antonio S. N, Lima, Alessandra R, Napolitano, Hamilton B, Calvete, Mário J. F, Dias, Lucas D
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Basel MDPI AG 01-09-2024
Subjects:
antibiotic
Antibiotics
Chromatography
Ciprofloxacin
Computer software industry
curcumin
Density functional theory
Electrons
environment
Global health
Hydrogen peroxide
Oxidizing agents
Oxytetracycline
Pharmaceuticals
Photocatalysis
Photocatalysts
Photodegradation
Public health
Software
Soil contamination
Soil water
United States
United States > US
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Summary:Contamination of soil, water, and wastewater by pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics, is a global health problem. This work evaluated the use of a natural compound, curcumin (CUR), as a homogeneous photocatalyst, together with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as a benign oxidant, to promote the photodegradation of ciprofloxacin (CIP). Furthermore, we carried out theoretical calculations using density functional theory (DFT) to assess the chemical reactivity of ciprofloxacin. In addition, the intermolecular interaction patterns of two crystalline polymorphs of the antibiotic drug were analyzed through Hirshfeld surfaces. Finally, calculations using the TD-DFT formalism were carried out to understand the effects on the CIP molecule caused by the simultaneous presence of the CUR molecule and ultraviolet-visible light (UV-Vis). A photooxidative effect was observed in the presence of the CUR photocatalyst (CIP + CUR (1:0.5)), resulting in a degradation of CIP of up to 24.4%. However, increasing the concentration of the CUR photocatalyst (ciprofloxacin + curcumin (1:1)) decreased the photodegradation of CIP, which may be caused by competition between the CIP molecule and CUR for ROS generated in situ. Additionally, the calculation results showed that the electronic excitations caused by the associated CIP + CUR structures affect the CIP molecule, resulting in the effects observed experimentally. The results show that CUR, when applied as a photosensitizing catalyst, presents synergistic potential with H2O2 in the photocatalytic degradation of ciprofloxacin. This photocatalytic process can be applied to the environmental remediation of pharmaceutical micropollutants, a subject of ongoing studies.
ISSN:2297-8739
2297-8739
DOI:10.3390/separations11090260