The inactivation of bacteriophages MS2 and PhiX174 by nanoscale zero-valent iron: Resistance difference and mechanisms

Highlights

• The resistance of phage PhiX174 to nZVI was much stronger than that of MS2.

• The nZVI damaged the surface proteins of both bacteriophages.

• The nZVI could destroy the nucleic acid of MS2, but not that of PhiX174.

•The phage inactivation was mainly attributed to the damage of the nucleic acid.

Abstract

Pathogenic enteric viruses pose a significant risk to human health. Nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI), a novel material for environmental remediation, has been shown to be a promising tool for disinfection. However, the existing research has typically utilized MS2 or f2 bacteriophages to investigate the antimicrobial properties of nZVI, and the resistance difference between bacteriophages, which is important for the application of disinfection technologies, is not yet understood. Here, MS2 and PhiX174 containing RNA and DNA, respectively, were used as model viruses to investigate the resistances to nZVI. The bacteriophage inactivation mechanisms were also discussed using TEM images, protein, and nucleic acid analysis. The results showed that an initial concentration of 10⁶ PFU/mL of MS2 could be completely inactivated within 240 min by 40 mg/L nZVI at pH 7, whereas the complete inactivation of PhiX174 could not be achieved by extending the reaction time, increasing the nZVI dosage, or changing the dosing means. This indicates that the resistance of phage PhiX174 to nZVI was much stronger than that of MS2. TEM images indicated that the viral particle shape was distorted, and the capsid shell was ruptured by nZVI. The damage to viral surface proteins in both phages was examined by three-dimensional fluorescence spectrum and sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). However, the nucleic acid analysis demonstrated that the nucleic acid of MS2, but not PhiX174, was destroyed. It indicated that bacteriophage inactivation was mainly attributed to the damage of nucleic acids.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) / MS2 / PhiΧ174 / Resistance / Inactivation / Pathogenic microorganisms

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51778618 and 52070192), which are greatly acknowledged.

Electronic Supplementary Material

Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-022-1529-4 and is accessible for authorized users.

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