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Filipić A, Dobnik D, Gutiérrez-Aguirre I, Ravnikar M, Košir T, Baebler Š, Štern A, Žegura B, Petkovšek M, Dular M, Mozetič M, Zaplotnik R, Primc G. Cold plasma within a stable supercavitation bubble - A breakthrough technology for efficient inactivation of viruses in water. Environ Int 2023; 182:108285. [PMID: 37972530 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2023.108285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Revised: 10/06/2023] [Accepted: 10/22/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
Water scarcity, one of the most pressing challenges we face today, has developed for many reasons, including the increasing number of waterborne pollutants that affect the safety of the water environment. Waterborne human, animal and plant viruses represent huge health, environmental, and financial burden and thus it is important to efficiently inactivate them. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to construct a unique device combining plasma with supercavitation and to evaluate its efficiency for water decontamination with the emphasis on inactivation of viruses. High inactivation (>5 log10 PFU/mL) of bacteriophage MS2, a human enteric virus surrogate, was achieved after treatment of 0.43 L of recirculating water for up to 4 min. The key factors in the inactivation were short-lived reactive plasma species that damaged viral RNA. Water treated with plasma for a short time required for successful virus inactivation did not cause cytotoxic effects in the in vitro HepG2 cell model system or adverse effects on potato plant physiology. Therefore, the combined plasma-supercavitation device represents an environmentally-friendly technology that could provide contamination-free and safe water.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arijana Filipić
- Department of Biotechnology and Systems Biology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - David Dobnik
- Department of Biotechnology and Systems Biology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Ion Gutiérrez-Aguirre
- Department of Biotechnology and Systems Biology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Maja Ravnikar
- Department of Biotechnology and Systems Biology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Tamara Košir
- Department of Biotechnology and Systems Biology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Špela Baebler
- Department of Biotechnology and Systems Biology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Alja Štern
- Department of Genetic Toxicology and Cancer Biology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Bojana Žegura
- Department of Genetic Toxicology and Cancer Biology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Martin Petkovšek
- University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Matevž Dular
- University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Miran Mozetič
- Department of Surface Engineering, Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Rok Zaplotnik
- Department of Surface Engineering, Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Gregor Primc
- Department of Surface Engineering, Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
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Šarc A, Kosel J, Stopar D, Oder M, Dular M. Removal of bacteria Legionella pneumophila, Escherichia coli, and Bacillus subtilis by (super)cavitation. Ultrason Sonochem 2018; 42:228-236. [PMID: 29429664 DOI: 10.1016/j.ultsonch.2017.11.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2017] [Revised: 09/27/2017] [Accepted: 11/01/2017] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
In sufficient concentrations, the pathogenic bacteria L. pneumophila can cause a respiratory illness that is known as the "Legionnaires" disease. Moreover, toxic Shiga strains of bacteria E. coli can cause life-threatening hemolytic-uremic syndrome. Because of the recent restrictions imposed on the usage of chlorine, outbreaks of these two bacterial species have become more common. In this study we have developed a novel rotation generator and its effectiveness against bacteria Legionella pneumophila and Escherichia coli was tested for various types of hydrodynamic cavitation (attached steady cavitation, developed unsteady cavitation and supercavitation). The results show that the supercavitation was the only effective form of cavitation. It enabled more than 3 logs reductions for both bacterial species and was also effective against a more persistent Gram positive bacteria, B. subtilis. The deactivation mechanism is at present unknown. It is proposed that when bacterial cells enter a supercavitation cavity, an immediate pressure drop occurs and this results in bursting of the cellular membrane. The new rotation generator that induced supercavitation proved to be economically and microbiologically far more effective than the classical Venturi section (super)cavitation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrej Šarc
- University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Askerceva 6, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Janez Kosel
- University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Askerceva 6, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - David Stopar
- University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical Faculty, Večna pot 111, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Martina Oder
- University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Health Sciences, Zdravstvena pot 5, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Matevž Dular
- University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Askerceva 6, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
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