Potassium Permanganate: a Possible Solution to Cyanotoxin Removal

Abstract

Cylindrospermopsin (CYN) along with microcystin-LR and anatoxin-a are common cyanotoxins. The oxidation pathways between the latter two toxins and potassium permanganate (KMnO4) are known and have been shown to be effective. However, the oxidation of cylindrospermopsin via potassium permanganate is largely under-researched. In this paper, possible oxidation pathways between these two reactants are investigated in two categories: pathways related to the oxidation of compounds involved in the biosynthesis of CYN and pathways related to the oxidation of CYN in its final synthesized form. In the former, the oxidation of glycine is the most plausible oxidation pathway and, in the latter, the oxidation of the uracil group of CYN is. In reviewing these pathways in addition to the oxidation of microcystin-LR and anatoxin-a by KMnO4, this oxidant is shown to be the optimal solution to cyanotoxin removal in most cases.