Pharmaceutical contaminants in aquatic systems, conventional and green strategies, recent updates, challenges and policies, and potential outcomes

Pharmaceutical antibiotics as pharmaceutical contaminations (PC) are now widely considered as the prime water pollutants released from various water sources. These pharmaceutical antibiotics (even at low concentrations) have been found to have negative impacts on the environment and all ecosystems. Numerous studies have been completed with relationship to their occurrence, impacts, destiny, and removal strategies from aquatic media in view of this widespread issue. PCs (drugs and dyes) have been documented to exist profoundly in surface water, groundwater, wastewater, soil, and sludge up to this point. Ironically, pharmaceutical research has grown significantly over the past three decades to provide a safe and healthier life, however, the widespread use of these dangerous medications has had a terrible effect on our ecosystem. To promote a safer environment and a healthier way of life, it is therefore of the utmost importance to clean pharmaceutically contaminated water streams effectively. For more efficient water and wastewater treatment procedures, nanotechnology (the preferred method for treating environmental contaminants (ECs) makes it possible to develop novel strategies with relatively high efficiency, cost effectiveness, simplicity, and scalability compared to conventional methods. In this review, we addressed various PC present in water systems, their fate, and their negative impacts on the environment and life. Moreover, an attempt has been made here to highlight various techniques with associated pros and cons. Finally, this review summarizes the current understanding and potential outcomes of these methodologies. Conclusively, this review is informative and valuable for researchers working on PC in water systems.