Decontaminating Ethidium Bromide: Advances in Adsorptive, Photocatalytic, and Biodegradation Approaches

Ethidium bromide (EtBr) is a widely used fluorescent dye for nucleic acid staining in molecular biology laboratories due to its high sensitivity and cost-effectiveness. Despite its utility, Ethidium bromide is a potent mutagen and carcinogen, raising serious environmental and health concerns when improperly disposed. Its ability to intercalate into DNA disrupts cellular processes, leading to genotoxic and cytotoxic effects in various organisms. This review highlights the history, structural and functional characteristics of Ethidium bromide, its environmental persistence, and biological toxicity. The article critically examines various degradation and removal strategies including adsorption-based techniques, clay-based systems, photocatalytic degradation, electrochemical and Fenton-like processes, as well as emerging nanoparticle-assisted and biological approaches. A comparative analysis of these methods is presented with respect to efficiency, operational feasibility, and environmental safety. Furthermore, the review outlines current research gaps and future directions to enhance mechanistic understanding, scalability, and sustainability of Ethidium bromide remediation technologies. This work mainly discusses about the various strategies developed in the last decade in efficient Ethidium bromide removal strategies for environmental protection.