Role of Microbes and Nanomaterials in the Removal of Pesticides from Wastewater

Table 1

Pesticides with their composition, health effects, and associated properties.

Pesticide	Composition	Exposure	Effects on human health	Physical and chemical properties
Organophosphorus	Organic carbonaceous and phosphoric acid derivative	Easily absorb by the skin, lungs, gastrointestinal tract (GI), and conjunctiva and metabolized by cytochrome P450 in the liver	Muscarinic syndrome, nicotine syndrome, effects on the CNS, teratogenic and carcinogenic	Most are polar, highly stable, and water soluble
Organochlorines	Organic carbonaceous compound with cyclodiene ring	Absorption via skin, GI tract, and lungs, ingestion of contaminated food, and inhalation	It has been linked to diabetes, cancer, asthma, and growth disorder in children	Lipophilic, polar, and show high persistence with long half-life
Carbamates	Organic compound with general chemical formula RHNCOOR, a derivative of carbamic acid	Absorption through the gastrointestinal tract, lungs, and skin	Lesser CNS symptoms, abdominal pain, behavioral change, diarrhea, vomiting, urinary incontinence, dyspnea, bronchospasm, bradycardia, hypoxemia, etc.	Polar compound, water-soluble, and have potential chemical reactivity
Pyrethrins and pyrethroids	Natural compounds extracted from Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium and pyrethroids are synthetic derivatives of pyrethrins, chemical structure contains an acidic and alcohol moiety and an ester bond in the center	Show little cytotoxicity but hyperexcitablity, target voltage-gated chloride, sodium and calcium channels, nicotinic receptors, GABA-gated chloride channels, metabolized by CYP450	They have known to cause asthma and rhinitis (act as an allergen to respiratory system) as well as contact dermatitis	Readily degradable in the presence of light (pyrethrins)
Triazines	Derivatives of a six-membered heterocyclic compound (s-triazine) with substitution at positions 2, 4, and 6.	—	Human poisoning is rare and might produce local irritation	—
Dithiocarbamates	Synthetic derivatives of S-containing dithiocarbamates (either dimethyldithiocarbamate or ethylenebisdithiocarbamate) in conjugation with metallic salts of manganese, ferric, or zinc	Absorption is slow	Exposure for longer period might produce adverse effects; metabolites are carcinogenic	Less phytotoxic and have more stability
Phenoxy derivatives	Consist of an aliphatic carboxylic acid group in conjugation with either an aromatic ring (methyl substituted) or chloride	Absorption in GI tract, lungs, negligible in skin	CNS damage, teratogenic, shows hepatotoxicity and carcinogenicity, renal failure, hyperthermia, birth defect, etc.	Half-life is less (1-3 days), are easily hydrolyzed and decomposed
Dipyridyl derivatives	Dipyridylium quaternary ammonium derivatives	Tissue damage in the lungs, liver, and kidneys	Induction of pulmonary injury, hypoxemia, and edema hemorrhage, necrosis in the GI tract, liver, kidney tubules, and lungs	Highly toxic, exposure results in the production of radicals which damage lipid membranes.