Inactivating Antimicrobial Resistance in Bacteria via Advanced Oxidation Processes: Uncovering Genomic Information in Resistance Genes

ABSTRACT The increased use of disinfection products, particularly hand sanitizers containing triclosan, has raised significant environmental concerns, including antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in microorganisms. This study compares the effectiveness of ozone solutions and micro‐nano bubbles (MNB) solutions in addressing AMR. The findings indicate that MNB, particularly due to its stable generation of hydroxyl radicals (HO•), achieved significantly higher bacterial disinfection rates, with over 95% of bacteria killed after only 3 h. This suggests that MNB could be a potent alternative for efficient bacterial inactivation in water treatment systems. Additionally, ozone solutions have been found to be more effective in reducing antimicrobial‐resistance genes presence, particularly at optimized concentrations (50% ozone, 2.5 mg/L). This targeted control over antimicrobial‐resistance genes represents an innovation in managing antibiotic resistance in environmental waters, indicating that ozone at specific concentrations could reduce antimicrobial‐resistance gene proliferation. Moreover, MNB solutions show little to no adverse effect on bacterial DNA structure, even at high concentrations. The combination of these two advanced oxidation treatments offers a promising perspective for disinfection technology, aiming for maximum antimicrobial‐resistance genes inactivation with minimal side effects, thereby exemplifying a more refined approach to ozone‐based disinfection.