Assessment of photodegradation efficiency of selected antibiotics from WHO watch group in environmental samples

The widespread presence of antimicrobials in aquatic ecosystems, driven by human and agricultural activities, poses significant challenges to the environment and human health, particularly by facilitating the spread of antimicrobial resistance.This study investigated the solar-driven photodegradation of ciprofloxacin (CIP) and vancomycin (VAN) in real municipal wastewater effluent, using TiO 2 -P25 and ZnO photocatalysts, with and without the addition of peroxymonosulfate (PMS).Experimental results demonstrate that CIP and VAN removal is significantly enhanced in the presence of PMS, achieving near-complete degradation within 5 minutes at a higher PMS concentration (200 mg L -1 ) across all tested processes.These finding underscore the potential of PMS activation through photolysis and photocatalysis as an advanced strategy for mitigating antibiotics in complex environmental matrices, offering promising avenues for sustainable wastewater treatment.Further research is recommended to explore degradation pathways and assess the ecotoxicity of post-process solutions.