Rapid and complete degradation of diclofenac by native soil microorganisms

Abstract Diclofenac one of the widespread xenobiotics, among other organic micropollutants, is persistent accumulating in different habitats like earth, water, plants and even mammalians. Natural microbial communities in soil and water play a key role in fundamental ecological processes such as regulating the fate of pollution released in the environment. As presented in this study varying concentrations of diclofenac between 0.1 and 1.0 g/L solubilized in a low salt medium could be aerobically degraded by forest soil within less than 10 days. In the course of full degradation, a carboxylated diclofenac intermediate could be isolated and identified by LC-MS/MS-TOF. The carboxylated diclofenac might be a key intermediate to enable a complete biodegradation of diclofenac via 2,6-dichloroaniline and carboxylated 2-hydroxyphenylacetic acid by a microbial consortium.