Abstract
Organic UV-filters, including 4-hydroxybenzophenone (4-HBP) and 2,4-dihydroxybenzophenone (BP-1), are persistent emerging contaminants whose presence in the environment poses a threat to aquatic organisms due to their endocrine disruptor’s properties. For this reason, finding suitable technological processes for their safety and efficient removal from the environment represent a priority for the scientific community. To the author’s knowledge, until now, there are no studies reporting the biodegradation of 4-HBP and BP-1 by a single bacteria strain. In this paper, there were tested the 4-HBP and BP-1 biodegradation potential of two Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis) and two Gram-negative (Salmonella typhimurium and Serratia rubidae). The 4-HPB biodegradation process was observed only in the presence of Gram-negative bacterial strains. Thus, the biodegradation rates of 4-HBP reached up to 12.7% after 24h of incubation in presence of Salmonella thyphimurium and up to 24.0% after 24h of incubation with Serratia rubidae. Staphylococcus aureus was able to biodegrade 26.7% of BP-1, while Salmonella thiphymurium was able to biodegrade 14.7% of BP-1 after 24h of incubation. Their biodegradation products generated during the 4-HBP biodegradation process by Serratia rubidae were analyzed through LC-MS/MS analysis. The (bio)degradation products were benzophenone and a multi-hydroxylated derivative of 4-HBP and the degradation pathways were proposed. The data obtained in this study gave important information regarding the 4-HBP and BP-1 potential biodegradation by single bacterial strains.
Biodegradation of two organic UV-Filters by single bacteria strains
