Cephalexin (CPX) and doxycycline (DOX) are two of the most used antibiotics to treat bacterial infections in human medicine, veterinary practices, animal husbandry, agriculture, aquaculture, among others. Nevertheless, due to their excessive consumption and incomplete absorption during their metabolization, they have been detected in different environmental matrices and the effluents of wastewater treatment plants, which reflects that conventional water treatment methods are not enough to eliminate this type of compounds. This paper presents the main results about the removal of the antibiotics CPX and DOX under low frequency (40 kHz) ultrasonic radiation (US). The effects of operational parameters such as the solution initial pH and the applied US power were assessed considering the response surface methodology and a face centered, central composite experimental design. The results indicated that evaluated operational factors significantly affect the pollutants elimination and that US technology is able to remove them completely. In addition, in terms of mineralization, experimental results showed a reduction of the organic carbon present in the solutions and a significant increase of ions (nitrates and sulfates) concentration, suggesting that part of the organic matter was transformed into CO₂, H₂O and inorganic species. Finally, results regarding the samples toxicity indicated that ultrasonic treatment could promote a significant reduction in this parameter, and the potential negative effect associated to CPX and DOX presence in water bodies.

头孢氨苄 (CPX) 和强力霉素 (DOX) 是人类医学、兽医实践、畜牧业、农业、水产养殖等领域治疗细菌感染最常用的两种抗生素。然而，由于它们在代谢过程中的过度消耗和不完全吸收，它们已在不同的环境基质和污水处理厂的流出物中检测到，这反映了传统的水处理方法不足以消除这类化合物。本文介绍了在低频 (40 kHz) 超声辐射 (US) 下去除抗生素 CPX 和 DOX 的主要结果。考虑响应面方法和面中心，评估操作参数的影响，例如溶液初始 pH 值和施加的美国功率，中心复合实验设计。结果表明，评估的操作因素显着影响污染物的消除，美国技术能够完全去除它们。此外，在矿化方面，实验结果表明溶液中存在的有机碳减少，离子（硝酸盐和硫酸盐）浓度显着增加，表明部分有机物转化为 CO₂、H ₂ O 和无机物。最后，关于样品毒性的结果表明，超声波处理可以促进该参数的显着降低，以及与水体中存在的 CPX 和 DOX 相关的潜在负面影响。