Exploring the state-of-the-art in metal-organic frameworks for antibiotic adsorption: a review of performance, mechanisms, and regeneration.

This review focuses on recent advances (2020–2024) in the use of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for the adsorption of antibiotics from aqueous solutions. MOFs, characterized by high porosity, tunable pore structures, and modifiable surfaces, have demonstrated superior adsorption capacities compared to conventional adsorbents, with notable examples including MIL-53(Al) for amoxicillin (758.5 mg/g) and SA-g-P3AP@MOF(Fe)/Ag for neomycin (625.0 mg/g). Adsorption typically occurs near neutral pH, reaches equilibrium within two hours in most cases, and involves mechanisms such as chemisorption, electrostatic attraction, hydrogen bonding, and π–π interactions. While laboratory batch studies report effective regeneration of MOFs using solvents like acetone, ethanol, and methanol over 3–5 cycles, challenges remain in scaling up, assessing performance in complex multi-contaminant and real wastewater systems, understanding competing ion effects, and evaluating long-term stability and cost-effectiveness. The review highlights these knowledge gaps and suggests future research directions to facilitate practical application of MOF-based antibiotic remediation.