Enhanced biodegradation of fluorinated pharmaceutical by Aspergillus flavus and Cunninghamella elegans biofilms: kinetics and mechanisms

Author: mycolabadmin
9/14/2025
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Summary

This research shows that two types of fungi—Aspergillus flavus and Cunninghamella elegans—can effectively break down commonly prescribed medications found in wastewater through biofilm formation on foam carriers. The fungi degrade these drugs through enzymatic action rather than absorption, removing 85-99% of the pharmaceuticals within days. This discovery offers a promising, cost-effective biological treatment for cleaning wastewater from hospitals and pharmaceutical factories, potentially protecting aquatic environments from drug pollution.

Background

Pharmaceutical compounds are emerging pollutants detected in wastewater and aquatic environments, with conventional treatment processes failing to optimize their removal. While Aspergillus flavus and Cunninghamella elegans have demonstrated efficacy in removing heavy metals and dyes, their potential for pharmaceutical bioremediation remains unexplored. Fluorinated pharmaceuticals pose unique biodegradation challenges due to the exceptional stability of carbon-fluorine bonds.

Objective

This study investigated the capacity of Aspergillus flavus and Cunninghamella elegans fungi to degrade three persistent fluorinated pharmaceuticals—atorvastatin, ciprofloxacin, and fluoxetine—using an innovative biofilm-based approach with polyurethane foam carriers. The research aimed to evaluate removal efficiencies, degradation kinetics, and species-specific biofilm characteristics.

Results

Cunninghamella elegans achieved 97.3% removal of atorvastatin and 97.7% for ciprofloxacin, while Aspergillus flavus achieved 92.4% fluoxetine reduction. Both fungi demonstrated pseudo-first-order degradation with remarkably short half-lives of 1.0-1.7 days. Adsorption contributed less than 10% to overall removal, with biodegradation as the primary mechanism, and biofilm-based systems consistently outperformed carrier-free cultures.

Conclusion

The study demonstrates that tailored fungal biofilm systems can efficiently remove recalcitrant pharmaceutical compounds, presenting a promising biological solution for wastewater treatment applications. Species-specific degradation mechanisms and operational parameters could guide development of scalable fungal bioremediation technologies that operate independently of lignin, offering advantages over traditional white-rot fungi-based systems.

Published in:Biodegradation,
Study Type:Experimental Laboratory Study,
Source: 10.1007/s10532-025-10182-w; PMID: 40946246