Riboflavin-sensitized photooxidation of Ceftriaxone and Cefotaxime. Kinetic study and effect on Staphylococcus aureus

• Ceftriaxone and Cefotaxime are photodegradated in the presence of Riboflavin.
• Ceftriaxone and Cefotaxime are photodegradated principally via Type I mechanism.
• The photooxidation of Ceftriaxone and Cefotaxime yield loss of bactericidal capacity.
• The photodegraded antibiotics do not maintain inhibitory activity on S. aureus strains.

Trace amounts of the widely used β-lactam antibiotics (Atbs) in waste water may cause adverse effects on the ecosystems and contribute to the proliferation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. On these grounds, kinetic and mechanistic aspects of photosensitized degradation of Ceftriaxone (Cft) and Cefotaxime (Ctx), have been studied in pure water by stationary and time-resolved techniques. Additionally, possible implications of these photoprocesses on the antimicrobial activity of the Atbs have also been investigated.Photoirradiation of aqueous solutions of Cft and Ctx produces the degradation of both Atbs in the presence of Riboflavin (vitamin B2), a well known pigment dissolved in natural aquatic systems. The process occurs through Type I and Type II mechanisms, with effective prevalence of the former. The participation of O2−, OH and O2(1Δg) is supported by experiments of oxygen consumption carried out in the presence of specific scavengers for such reactive oxygen species.Microbiological assays exhibit a parallelism between the rate of Cft and Ctx photodegradation and the loss of their bactericidal capacity on Staphylococcus aureus strains. Results contribute to both understanding kinetic and mechanism aspects of the degradation and predicting on natural decay of Atbs waste water-contaminants.