* Corresponding author. 1944-3994/1944-3986 © 2021 Desalination Publications. All rights reserved. Desalination and Water Treatment www.deswater.com doi: 10.5004/dwt.2021.27334 229 (2021) 252–282 July Ciprofoxacin removal from aqueous media by adsorption process: a systematic review and meta-analysis Mahshid Malakootian a , Maryam Faraji b,c , Mohammad Malakootian b,c , Majid Nozari b,c, * a Cardiogenetic Research Center, Rajaie Cardiovascular Medical and Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, email: Malakootian@rhc.ac.ir b Environmental Health Engineering Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran c Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Faculty of Public Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran, Tel. +98-9383921819; emails: nozari.m@kmu.ac.ir (M. Nozari), m.faraji@kmu.ac.ir/m_faraji28@yahoo.com (M. Faraji), m.malakootian@yahoo.com (M. Malakootian) Received 28 January 2021; Accepted 16 April 2021 abstract In this study, the adsorption of ciprofloxacin was reviewed from aqueous media (water and wastewater) in studies published over the last years (1990–2020). The objective of this research was to analyze ciprofloxacin removal from aqueous media by adsorption process through a systematic review and meta-analysis. It was found that the ciprofloxacin adsorption data were well fitted on the Langmuir isotherm and the pseudo-second-order kinetic models. The review further showed that the optimum pH ranged from 6 to 8.5 in most articles. Based on the reported results, the temperature and standard enthalpy change (ΔH°) varied in the range of 273–388 K and –1,212.6 to 170.21 kJ/mol, respectively. The maximum reported adsorption capacity for ciprofloxacin was 1,575 mg/g for C@silica core/shell nanoparticles. Also, the minimum adsorption capacity was related to birnessite (47 ng/g). The most effective adsorbent for ciprofloxacin removal was C@sil- ica core/shell nanoparticles from ZIF-8. The results of the meta-analysis revealed that the adsorp- tion process could remove ciprofloxacin with an acceptable mean efficiency of 59.32% (95% CI: 44.66–73.97). It can be suggested to apply the novel hybrid processes, adsorbent modification, composite adsorbent development, neural network modeling to increase ciprofloxacin adsorption. Keywords: Ciprofloxacin; Adsorption; Aqueous solution; Systemic review; Meta-analysis 1. Introduction Population growth and increased production and con- sumption of emerging pollutants have destroyed the quality of water resources. The amount and types of these hazard- ous pollutants and related problems are increasing. They can cause enzymatic, hormonal, and genetic disorders in humans [1–5]. Recent researches have reported a large num- ber of emerging pollutants, the metabolites of which have been identified in aqueous media. Conventional water and effluent treatment methods, including physical, chemical, and biological processes (individually or in combination) cannot remove or degrade these pollutants such that most of them eventually enter the ecosystem [6,7]. Antibiotics are among the emerging pollutants that can cause severe impact effects if their residues enter the body [8]. They target cer- tain responsible organisms and destroy ecosystems. Some of them are non-biodegradable and remain in the environment for a long time [9,10]. Ciprofloxacin like other antibiotics could accumulate in the body of organisms, thus posing a potential health risk. Therefore, due to the high-level con- centration in various wastewaters, stability, resistance to