Disinfection of polymicrobial urines by electrochemical oxidation: Removal of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and genes

Miguel Herraiz-Carboné; Salvador Cotillas; Engracia Lacasa; Marina Vasileva; Caridad Sainz de Baranda; Eva Riquelme; Pablo Cañizares; Cristina Sáez

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.128028

Disinfection of polymicrobial urines by electrochemical oxidation: Removal of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and genes

J Hazard Mater. 2022 Mar 15:426:128028. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.128028. Epub 2021 Dec 8.

Authors

Miguel Herraiz-Carboné¹, Salvador Cotillas², Engracia Lacasa³, Marina Vasileva¹, Caridad Sainz de Baranda⁴, Eva Riquelme⁴, Pablo Cañizares⁵, Cristina Sáez⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemical Engineering, Higher Technical School of Industrial Engineering, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Edificio Infante Don Juan Manuel, Campus Universitario s/n, 02071 Albacete, Spain.
² Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials, Faculty of Chemical Sciences, Complutense University of Madrid, Avenida Complutense s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: salvacot@ucm.es.
³ Department of Chemical Engineering, Higher Technical School of Industrial Engineering, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Edificio Infante Don Juan Manuel, Campus Universitario s/n, 02071 Albacete, Spain. Electronic address: engracia.lacasa@uclm.es.
⁴ Clinical Parasitology and Microbiology Area, University Hospital Complex of Albacete, C/Hermanos Falcó 37, 02006 Albacete, Spain.
⁵ Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Chemical Sciences and Technologies, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Edificio Enrique Costa Novella, Campus Universitario s/n, 13005 Ciudad Real, Spain.

PMID: 34923384
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.128028

Abstract

In this work, data obtained from the University Hospital Complex of Albacete (Spain) were selected as a case study to carry out the disinfection experiments. To do this, different configurations of electrochemical reactors were tested for the disinfection of complex urines. Results showed that 4-6 logs bacterial removal were achieved for every bacterium tested when working with a microfluidic flow-through reactor after 180 min (0.423 Ah dm^-3). The MIKROZON® cell reached a total disinfection after 60 min (1.212 Ah dm^-3), causing severe damages induced in the cell walls observed in SEM images. The concentration profiles of the electrogenerated disinfectants in solution could explain the differences observed. Additionally, a mean decrease in the ARGs concentration ranked as follows: bla_KPC (4.18-logs) > bla_TEM (3.96-logs) > ermB (3.23-logs) using the MIKROZON® cell. This electro-ozonizer could be considered as a suitable alternative to reduce the risk of antibiotic resistance spread. Hence, this study provides an insight into different electrochemical reactors for the disinfection of complex hospital urine matrices and contributes to reduce the spread of antibiotic resistance through the elimination of ARGs. A topic of great importance nowadays that needs to be further studied.

Keywords: Antibiotic resistance genes; Antibiotic-resistant bacteria; Electrochemical disinfection; Hospital; Urine.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Anti-Bacterial Agents* / pharmacology
Bacteria / genetics
Disinfection*
Drug Resistance, Microbial / genetics
Genes, Bacterial
Humans
Wastewater

Substances

Anti-Bacterial Agents
Waste Water