Purpose: This review aims to provide a theoretical basis and scientific reference for constructing environmentally friendly and economically feasible sustainable management systems for pharmaceutical pollution. Methods: This review discusses three synergistic mechanisms—“cascade degradation”, “symbiotic protection”, and “functional complementarity”—along with construction strategies including co-immobilization technology, engineered biofilms, and engineered bacteria modified via synthetic biology. Result: Synergistic platforms have achieved significant progress in treating various types of pharmaceutical pollutants, including antibiotics, anti-inflammatories and hormones, antiviral drugs and pesticides. Conclusions: The synergistic integration of enzymes and microorganisms achieves the unification of efficient catalysis and deep mineralization, opening up a new pathway for the remediation of pharmaceutical pollution. It also transforms theoretically existing concepts into operable treatment technologies.
Sun et al. (Tue,) studied this question.