Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41989627›Full record

ArticleBiodegradation2026

Comparative performance of non-white rot fungal stirred-tank and biofilm-based bioreactors for pharmaceutical wastewater treatment: kinetic modelling and scalability potential.

Ibtihal Alkarim, Nur Aliya Narzilan, Nur Syahidah Shaharuddin, Murni Halim, Mohd Shamzi Mohamed, Fadzlie Wong Faizal Wong

Abstract readComparative Study
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Biodegradation, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Ibtihal AlkarimDepartment of Bioprocess Technology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, UPM, 43400, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
Nur Aliya NarzilanDepartment of Bioprocess Technology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, UPM, 43400, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
Nur Syahidah ShaharuddinAgro-Biotechnology Institute, National Institutes of Biotechnology Malaysia, Jalan Bioteknologi, 43400, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
Murni HalimDepartment of Bioprocess Technology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, UPM, 43400, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
Mohd Shamzi MohamedDepartment of Bioprocess Technology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, UPM, 43400, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
Fadzlie Wong Faizal WongDepartment of Bioprocess Technology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, UPM, 43400, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. fadzlie@upm.edu.my.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Pharmaceutically active compound (PhAC) is poorly removed by conventional wastewater treatment, threatening aquatic ecosystems and human health through persistent bioaccumulation. To address this challenge, we evaluated two underutilized non-white rot fungi, Aspergillus eleand Cunninghamella elegans, in stirred-tank (STBR) and biofilm-based (BBR) bioreactors for removing fluoxetine (FLX), ciprofloxacin (CIP), and atorvastatin (ATO). A. flavus in STBR achieved exceptional removal (92-94% for all PhACs), with both STBR and BBR achieving statistically comparable pharmaceutical removal efficiencies (p > 0.05). While STBR excelled in targeted PhAC degradation, BBR better improved general wastewater quality, reducing chemical oxygen demand (COD) by 73.7% and total organic carbon (TOC) by 52.6%. Surprisingly, laccase activity showed no correlation with degradation, suggesting that intracellular enzymatic mechanisms may be responsible; cytochrome P450-mediated biotransformation is proposed as a hypothesis warranting future experimental validation. These results demonstrate that non-white rot fungi offer promising, energy-efficient alternatives for pharmaceutical wastewater treatment, with bioreactor choice dependent on prioritization of specific pollutant removal versus broad effluent polishing.

Indexed as

AspergillusBiofilmsBioreactorsWastewaterWater Pollutants, ChemicalAtorvastatinBiodegradation, EnvironmentalCiprofloxacinFluoxetineKineticsLaccasePharmaceutical PreparationsWaste Disposal, FluidAtorvastatinCiprofloxacinFluoxetineLaccasePharmaceutical PreparationsWastewaterWater Pollutants, ChemicalAspergillus flavusBioremediationCunninghamella elegansLaccase activityPharmaceutically active compound (PhAC)Wastewater quality

Identifiers

PMID41989627

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.