Detection of SARS-CoV-2 and Other Viruses in Wastewater: Optimization and Automation of an Aluminum Hydroxide Adsorption-Precipitation Method for Virus Concentration

Lina Yu; Zhe Tian; Dev Raj Joshi; Lin Yuan; Reshma Tuladhar; Yu Zhang; Min Yang

doi:10.1021/acsestwater.2c00079

Detection of SARS-CoV-2 and Other Viruses in Wastewater: Optimization and Automation of an Aluminum Hydroxide Adsorption-Precipitation Method for Virus Concentration

ACS ES T Water. 2022 May 10;2(11):2175-2184. doi: 10.1021/acsestwater.2c00079. eCollection 2022 Nov 11.

Authors

Lina Yu^{1

2

3}, Zhe Tian¹, Dev Raj Joshi⁴, Lin Yuan⁵, Reshma Tuladhar⁴, Yu Zhang^{1

2

3}, Min Yang^{6

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China.
² Sino-Danish College, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
³ University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
⁴ Central Department of Microbiology, Tribhuvan University, GPO 44613 Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal.
⁵ Beijing Sino-science Gene Technology Company, Ltd., Beijing 102629, China.
⁶ Key Laboratory of Drinking Water Science and Technology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China.

PMID: 37552732
DOI: 10.1021/acsestwater.2c00079

Abstract

This study aimed to provide a low-cost technique for virus detection in wastewater by improving an aluminum hydroxide adsorption-precipitation method. The releasing efficiency of viruses trapped by the aluminum hydroxide precipitates was improved by adding ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium salt (EDTA-2Na) to dissolve the precipitates at a Na₂EDTA·2H₂O:AlCl₃ molar ratio of 1.8-3.6. The recovery rates of the improved method for seven viruses, including SARS-CoV-2-abEN pseudovirus and six animal viruses, were 5.9-22.3% in tap water and 4.9-35.1% in wastewater. Rotavirus A (9.0-4.5 × 10³ copies/mL), porcine circovirus type 2 (5.8-6.4 × 10⁵ copies/mL), and porcine parvovirus (5.6-2.7 × 10⁴ copies/mL) were detected in China's pig farm wastewater, while rotavirus A (2.0 × 10³ copies/mL) was detected in hospital wastewater. SARS-CoV-2 was detected in hospital wastewater (8.4 × 10² to 1.4 × 10⁴ copies/mL), sewage (6.4 × 10 to 2.3 × 10³ copies/mL), and river water (6.6 × 10 to 9.3 × 10 copies/mL) in Nepal. The method was automized, with a rate of recovery of 4.8 ± 1.4% at a virus concentration of 10² copies/mL. Thus, the established method could be used for wastewater-based epidemiology with sufficient sensitivity in coping with the COVID-19 epidemic and other virus epidemics.