Browsing by Author "Gomes, Marta"
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- Disinfection of wastewater in the mitigation of SARS-CoV-2 by photodynamic treatmentPublication . Almeida, Adelaide; Gomes, Marta; Bartolomeu, Maria; Vieira, Cátia; Gomes, Ana T. P. C.; Faustino, M. Amparo F.; Neves, M. Graça P. M. S.
- Photodynamic inactivation of phage Phi6 as SARS-CoV-2 model in wastewater disinfection: effectivity and safetyPublication . Bartolomeu, Maria; Vieira, Cátia; Gomes, Marta; Gomes, Ana T. P. C.; Faustino, Maria Amparo F.; Neves, Maria Graça P. M. S.; Almeida, AdelaideThe past 2 years have been marked by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic. This virus is found in the intestinal tract and reaches the wastewater system, and, consequently, the natural receiving water bodies, and inappropriate or/and inefficient WW treatment is a means of contamination. In the present work, we used a SARS-CoV-2 model—the phage Phi6—to evaluate its survival under different environmental conditions (pH, temperature, salinity, solar, and UV-B irradiation). Then, we tested the efficiency of photodynamic inactivation (PDI) as a WW disinfection alternative method, and, additionally, the impact on the cultivable native marine microorganisms of the PDI-treated WW was evaluated.
- Photoinactivation of phage phi6 as a SARS-CoV-2 model in wastewater: evidence of efficacy and safetyPublication . Gomes, Marta; Bartolomeu, Maria; Vieira, Cátia; Gomes, Ana T. P. C.; Faustino, Maria Amparo F.; Neves, Maria Graça P. M. S.; Almeida, AdelaideThe last two years have been marked by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic. This virus is found in the intestinal tract; it reaches wastewater systems and, consequently, the natural receiving water bodies. As such, inefficiently treated wastewater (WW) can be a means of contamination. The currently used methods for the disinfection of WW can lead to the formation of toxic compounds and can be expensive or inefficient. As such, new and alternative approaches must be considered, namely, photodynamic inactivation (PDI). In this work, the bacteriophage ϕ6 (or, simply, phage ϕ6), which has been used as a suitable model for enveloped RNA viruses, such as coronaviruses (CoVs), was used as a model of SARS-CoV-2. Firstly, to understand the virus’s survival in the environment, phage ϕ6 was subjected to different laboratory-controlled environmental conditions (temperature, pH, salinity, and solar and UV-B irradiation), and its persistence over time was assessed. Second, to assess the efficiency of PDI towards the virus, assays were performed in both phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), a commonly used aqueous matrix, and a secondarily treated WW (a real WW matrix). Third, as WW is generally discharged into the marine environment after treatment, the safety of PDI-treated WW was assessed through the determination of the viability of native marine water microorganisms after their contact with the PDI-treated effluent. Overall, the results showed that, when used as a surrogate for SARS-CoV-2, phage ϕ6 remains viable in different environmental conditions for a considerable period. Moreover, PDI proved to be an efficient approach in the inactivation of the viruses, and the PDI-treated effluent showed no toxicity to native aquatic microorganisms under realistic dilution conditions, thus endorsing PDI as an efficient and safe tertiary WW disinfection method. Although all studies were performed with phage ϕ6, which is considered a suitable model of SARS-CoV-2, further studies using SARS-CoV-2 are necessary; nevertheless, the findings show the potential of PDI for controlling SARS-CoV-2 in WW.