Efficient enzyme-mediated degradation of various emerging pollutants, including 2-mercaptobenzothiazole, paracetamol, and sulfamethoxazole, using HRP@UiO-66-NH₂.
5 affiliations
- 1Department of Chemistry, College of Sciences, UAE University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.
- 2Department of Chemistry, College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
- 3Department of Chemistry, College of Sciences, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Little Rock, USA.
- 4Department of Biological Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. [email protected].
- 5Biotechnology Center (BTC), Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. [email protected].
Abstract
The increasing contamination of water sources due to industrialization and population growth poses significant environmental and health risks, even at trace pollutant concentrations. Enzymatic bioremediation, particularly using horseradish peroxidase (HRP), has shown great potential in pollutant degradation due to its high selectivity and catalytic efficiency. However, limitations such as poor operational stability and reusability hinder its large-scale application. The degradation of structurally diverse emerging pollutants by UiO-66-NH₂-immobilized HRP, including the influence of redox mediation, remains insufficiently investigated. This study addresses this gap by immobilizing HRP onto UiO-66-NH₂, a metal-organic framework (MOF) with high stability and surface area. HRP@UiO-66-NH₂ was characterized using SEM-EDX, PXRD, FTIR, TGA, and BET analyses, while pollutant degradation was quantified by LC-MS/MS. HRP loading concentrations ranging from 0.5 to 4 mg/mL were evaluated, and 1 mg/mL was selected for subsequent experiments. The immobilized HRP exhibited an optimum H₂O₂ concentration of 1.08 mM within the tested range of 0-2.43 mM. Both free and immobilized HRP showed maximum activity at pH 4, while the optimum temperature shifted from 30°C for free HRP to 40°C following immobilization. The immobilized enzyme also retained approximately 95% of its initial activity after four reuse cycles. HRP@UiO-66-NH₂ was evaluated for the degradation of nine emerging pollutants, including 2-mercaptobenzothiazole, paracetamol, sulfamethoxazole, methylparaben, salicylic acid, lincomycin hydrochloride, atenolol, thiabendazole, and DEET. It degraded 99.7% of 2-mercaptobenzothiazole and 97.4% of paracetamol within 30 min. The addition of 1-hydroxybenzotriazole (HOBT) increased the degradation of sulfamethoxazole, methylparaben, and salicylic acid from 23.3%, 14.5%, and 12.4% to 53.1%, 57.6%, and 54.3%, respectively. The greater thermal and H₂O₂ tolerance of immobilized HRP suggests a protective effect of the UiO-66-NH₂ framework, while the variable response to HOBT indicates pollutant-dependent redox mediation. These findings highlight HRP@UiO-66-NH₂ as a promising biocatalyst for sustainable water remediation, warranting further studies to elucidate the underlying degradation mechanisms and optimize real-world applications.
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BibTeX
@article{almaqdi2026efficient,
title = {{Efficient enzyme-mediated degradation of various emerging pollutants, including 2-mercaptobenzothiazole, paracetamol, and sulfamethoxazole, using HRP@UiO-66-NH₂.}},
author = {Khadega A Al-Maqdi and Shaikha Alneyadi and Nada Elmerhi and Lamia A Siddig and Ahmed Alzamly and Iltaf Shah and Syed Salman Ashraf},
journal = {Environmental science and pollution research international},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1007/s11356-026-38269-8},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42834305},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Efficient enzyme-mediated degradation of various emerging pollutants, including 2-mercaptobenzothiazole, paracetamol, and sulfamethoxazole, using HRP@UiO-66-NH₂.
AU - Khadega A Al-Maqdi
AU - Shaikha Alneyadi
AU - Nada Elmerhi
AU - Lamia A Siddig
AU - Ahmed Alzamly
AU - Iltaf Shah
AU - Syed Salman Ashraf
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/01
JO - Environmental science and pollution research international
DO - 10.1007/s11356-026-38269-8
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42834305
AB - The increasing contamination of water sources due to industrialization and population growth poses significant environmental and health risks, even at trace pollutant concentrations. Enzymatic bioremediation, particularly using horseradish peroxidase (HRP), has shown great potential in pollutant degradation due to its high selectivity and catalytic efficiency. However, limitations such as poor operational stability and reusability hinder its large-scale application. The degradation of structurally diverse emerging pollutants by UiO-66-NH₂-immobilized HRP, including the influence of redox mediation, remains insufficiently investigated. This study addresses this gap by immobilizing HRP onto UiO-66-NH₂, a metal-organic framework (MOF) with high stability and surface area. HRP@UiO-66-NH₂ was characterized using SEM-EDX, PXRD, FTIR, TGA, and BET analyses, while pollutant degradation was quantified by LC-MS/MS. HRP loading concentrations ranging from 0.5 to 4 mg/mL were evaluated, and 1 mg/mL was selected for subsequent experiments. The immobilized HRP exhibited an optimum H₂O₂ concentration of 1.08 mM within the tested range of 0-2.43 mM. Both free and immobilized HRP showed maximum activity at pH 4, while the optimum temperature shifted from 30°C for free HRP to 40°C following immobilization. The immobilized enzyme also retained approximately 95% of its initial activity after four reuse cycles. HRP@UiO-66-NH₂ was evaluated for the degradation of nine emerging pollutants, including 2-mercaptobenzothiazole, paracetamol, sulfamethoxazole, methylparaben, salicylic acid, lincomycin hydrochloride, atenolol, thiabendazole, and DEET. It degraded 99.7% of 2-mercaptobenzothiazole and 97.4% of paracetamol within 30 min. The addition of 1-hydroxybenzotriazole (HOBT) increased the degradation of sulfamethoxazole, methylparaben, and salicylic acid from 23.3%, 14.5%, and 12.4% to 53.1%, 57.6%, and 54.3%, respectively. The greater thermal and H₂O₂ tolerance of immobilized HRP suggests a protective effect of the UiO-66-NH₂ framework, while the variable response to HOBT indicates pollutant-dependent redox mediation. These findings highlight HRP@UiO-66-NH₂ as a promising biocatalyst for sustainable water remediation, warranting further studies to elucidate the underlying degradation mechanisms and optimize real-world applications.
SN - 0944-1344
SN - 1614-7499
ER -