INACTIVATION OF E. COLI AND MS2 COLIPHAGE BY COPPER BASED DISINFECTION SYSTEMS

Abstract

The risk of human health due to infectious diseases caused by pathogenic microorganisms has emerged lately and absorbed significant attention of the activists from diverse areas to control the level of risk as well as prevent the potential outbreak. Among probable directions to deal with the issue, proper treatment of water especially microorganism disinfection process stands out as one of the most effective methods since the infection occurs most likely due to the utilization of filthy water under inadequate treatment or non-treated water. In order to control the level of microorganism in water effectively, a number of potential methods have been studied including physical, chemical processes and so on. In which, metal based disinfectants and copper related compounds in particular have turned more and more popular owing to high effectiveness at low dose range along with the absence of subsequent adverse. However, despite massive studies on toxicity of various copper-based materials, knowledge of the antimicrobial action by some fundamental copper systems is still deficient including inactivation mechanism behind the toxicity. In this study, copper ion (Cu[II]) and copper Fenton system (Cu[II]/H2O2) were investigated for the effect on the survival of two surrogate microorganisms (E. coli and MS2). The mode of action underlying biocidal effect of such systems was elucidated via observations using various capping and scavenging chemicals. pH condition and level of dissolved oxygen in the solution were examined whether affect the performance of the materials. In addition, copper nanoparticles (nCu) were synthesized and tested for the potential to be employed in antimicrobial treatment processes. Fabrication route was studied for influence on nCu toxicity as was molecular oxygen while the contribution of reactive oxidants and the particles themselves was clarified as well.