Photocatalytic and Biotechnological Strategies for Remediation of Persistent Organic Pollutants: Mechanisms, Toxicity, and Antimicrobial Perspectives

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) pose significant ecological and human health risks due to their persistence, bioaccumulation, toxicity, and global distribution. Conventional remediation methods are often inadequate for achieving complete mineralization, demonstrating the need for advanced and substantial approaches. Recent studies have explored photocatalytic and biotechnological methods as promising alternatives; however, critical gaps remain regarding the toxicity of transformation products, implications for antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and the scalability of hybrid systems. This review assesses photocatalytic and biotechnological strategies for POP remediation, focusing on their mechanisms, performance, and environmental impacts. Photocatalysis enables the rapid degradation of recalcitrant compounds with reported removal efficiencies often exceeding 70%-95% under optimized conditions for pollutants. In contrast, biotechnological approaches facilitate selective and complete mineralization through microbial and enzymatic processes but are influenced by environmental conditions and pollutant bioavailability. Hybrid photocatalytic-biological systems demonstrate enhanced efficiency by coupling oxidative pretreatment with biodegradation, although their performance may vary depending on system integration and operational conditions. This review focuses on the formation and fate of intermediate by-products, their potential toxicity, and the influence of remediation processes on microbial communities and AMR dynamics. Unlike previous studies, this work integrates material science, environmental toxicology, and microbial ecology while emphasizing emerging tools such as omics technologies, synthetic biology, and digital optimization to advance risk-informed and sustainable remediation strategies.