Inactivation mechanisms of human norovirus surrogate Tulane virus by peracetic acid at different pHs

Many illnesses caused by viruses are spread by water and fresh products, hence it is critical to inactivate viruses in the water disinfection and food sanitation process. To apply a novel disinfectant requires studies to fully explore the inactivation efficacy and mechanisms of that new disinfectant. In this study, we determined the inactivation kinetics and mechanisms of a potential disinfectant named peracetic acid (PAA) on Tulane virus (TV), a surrogate for human norovirus, at pH 7.8, 5.4 and 4.5. No significant difference was observed between the inactivation kinetics under different concentrations and pHs. A 2.5-log10 reduction in TV infectivity was achieved after 10 min exposure at 10 mg/L PAA or 5 mg/L after 20 min exposure. The efficacy is partly impacted by the significant aggregation of TV under these studied pHs. We explored whether the inactivation was caused by the damage of the genome or the protein capsid or both. The genome damage was revealed by quantifying the viral intact genome using the reverse transcription real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). The capsid proteins degradation is determined by quantifying the viruses with the attachment using a binding assay with designed porcine gastric mucin conjugated with magnetic beads (PGM-MBs). Based on our results, only less than 10% of PAA-exposure TV lost the ability to bind to PGM- MBs. A linear correlation between the reduction of TV and TV NSP1 genes suggested that genome damage is only responsible for approximately 10% of TV inactivation. These results indicated that the combination of the genome and spike protein damage did not fully explain inactivation. The findings in this study would contribute to the design of the conditions for PAA applying in the drinking water and wastewater treatment plant and the food industries.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Environ Engr in Civil Engr

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2020

Author dc:creator

• Bai, Hezi

Contributors dc:contributor

• Nguyen, Thanh Huong

• Inactivation mechanisms
• Peracetic acid

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2020 Hezi Bai

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/108635

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/108635