Metabolic Capability of Penicillium oxalicum to Transform High Concentrations of Anti-Inflammatory and Analgesic Drugs Olicón Hernández, Darío Rafael Ortúzar, Maite Pozo Llorente, Clementina González López, Jesús Juan Ascomycetes Analgesics Emerging contaminants Biodegradation Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs Penicillium oxalicum Olicón-Hernández would like to thank Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACyT) for the postdoc fellowships (231581/454815). E. A. would like to thank the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) funds [RYC-2013-12481] and [CTM- 2017-84332, MINECO/AEI/FEDER, UE]. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and analgesics are two of the most employed drug groups around the world due to their use in the treatment of edema and pain. However, they also present an ecological challenge because they are considered as potential water pollutants. In this work, the biodegradation of four NSAIDs (diclofenac, ibuprofen, naproxen and ketoprofen) and one analgesic (acetaminophen) at 50 µM (initial concentration) by Penicillium oxalicum, at both flask and bioreactor bench scales, was evaluated. An important co-metabolic mechanism as part of the global bioremediation process for the elimination of these drugs was observed, as in some cases it was necessary to supplement glucose to achieve a 100% removal rate: both individually and as a complex mixture. Identical behavior in the implementation of a fluidized bench-scale batch bioreactor, inoculated with pellets of this fungus and the complex mix of the drugs, was observed. The role of the cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYP) in the biodegradation of the drugs mix were evidenced by the observation of hydroxylated by-products. The results on the reduction of toxicity (micro and phyto) were not conclusive; however, a reduction in phytotoxicity was detected. 2020-07-15T11:48:12Z 2020-07-15T11:48:12Z 2020-04 info:eu-repo/semantics/article Olicón-Hernández, D. R., Ortúzar, M., Pozo, C., González-López, J., & Aranda, E. (2020). Metabolic Capability of Penicillium oxalicum to Transform High Concentrations of Anti-Inflammatory and Analgesic Drugs. Applied Sciences, 10(7), 2479. [doi:10.3390/app10072479] http://hdl.handle.net/10481/62985 10.3390/app10072479 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Atribución 3.0 España MDPI