Recent strategies for the remediation of Ivermectin from the environment: A critical review

Ivermectin (IVM) is arguably one of the most widely consumed drugs due to its wide range of applications for various diseases such as viruses, cancer, parasites, and inflammation. Originally designed as an antiparasitic drug, preclinical studies have shown its potential as a possible antiviral drug for COVID-19. Since the pandemic began, there has been a rise in the consumption of IVM. A consequential effect of this is the release of IVM into the environment, resulting in ecological degradation. A significant number of reviews have reported the fate, distribution, and ecotoxicity of IVM. However, reviews on the remediation strategies of IVM have been grossly ignored. Hence, this review highlights the remediation strategies of IVM reported in the literature. Findings revealed adsorption as the most broadly adopted technique for IVM remediation. The various adsorbents employed so far for the adsorption of IVM are reported. Also, the adsorption kinetics, isotherms, thermodynamics modeling, mechanistic interaction, and reusability of the investigated adsorbents were discussed. Moreover, the application of a photocatalytic technique which has the potential for mineralizing IVM was also highlighted. Lastly, to foster the removal of IVM, further research needs to address cost-effectiveness, scalability potential, computational studies, risk-benefit analysis, and socio-economic aspects of remediation techniques to close the gaps.