Phi 6 Bacteriophage Inactivation by Metal Salts, Metal Powders, and Metal Surfaces

Abstract

The interaction of phages with abiotic environmental surfaces is usually an understudied field of phage ecology. In this study, we investigated the virucidal potential of different metal salts, metal and ceramic powders doped with Ag and Cu ions, and newly fabricated ceramic and metal surfaces against Phi6 bacteriophage. The new materials were fabricated by spark plasma sintering (SPS) and/or selective laser melting (SLM) techniques and had different surface free energies and infiltration features. We show that inactivation of Phi6 in solutions with Ag and Cu ions can be as effective as inactivation by pH, temperature, or UV. Adding powder to Ag and Cu ion solutions decreased their virucidal effect. The newly fabricated ceramic and metal surfaces showed very good virucidal activity. In particular, 45%TiO2 + 5%Ag + 45%ZrO2 + 5%Cu, in addition to virus adhesion, showed virucidal and infiltration properties. The results indicate that more than 99.99% of viruses deposited on the new ceramic surface were inactivated or irreversibly attached to it.

Rapid Method to Quantify the Antiviral Potential of Porous and Nonporous Material Using the Enveloped Bacteriophage Phi6

“…Lower concentrations ϕ6 are less stable under the same conditions than higher concentrations, implicating either phage–phage interactions and/or the distribution of inactivation sites on abiotic material as important factors . The effect of abiotic surfaces is demonstrated by the decrease in ϕ6 persistence by contact with metal in the form of salts, powders, and composite ceramic surfaces . The chemical composition of the liquid environment, in which phage is suspended, is another factor in persistence.…”

“…Increased roughness provides more surface area to which phage can adhere . Contact angle measurements are used to estimate surface energy, which can play a role in phage adherence and decay . Other tools to characterize micro- and nano-scale level details of surfaces and near-surface characteristics include scanning electron microscopy techniques, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, and cryogenic electron microscopy and tomography …”

“…56 The effect of abiotic surfaces is demonstrated by the decrease in ϕ6 persistence by contact with metal in the form of salts, powders, and composite ceramic surfaces. 57 The chemical composition of the liquid environment, in which phage is suspended, is another factor in persistence. A comparison of the stability of ϕ6 and non-enveloped phages MS2 and PhiX174 in microdroplets composed of water, buffer, or saliva demonstrates that survival is highest for phages in saliva, even when dried on glass surfaces.…”

“…63 Testing the antiviral potential on known antibacterial surfaces is a high priority. Materials fabricated by sintering 57 and surfaces produced by deposition techniques 59 are examples of composite materials that have been tested for virucidal potential. The application of informatics will achieve the convergence of decay rates for different IPs with the physical characteristics of materials, which will reveal how antiviral properties are modulated by material design.…”

Chemical Nature of Metals and Metal-Based Materials in Inactivation of Viruses

“…Table S5, antiviral rate of metal elements with different valence states. Refs [ 20 , 52 , 65 , 73 , 76 , 77 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 85 , 88 , 95 , 111 , 138 , 179 , 180 , 181 , 182 , 183 , 184 , 185 , 186 , 187 , 188 , 189 , 190 , 191 , 192 , 193 ] were cited in the Supplementary Materials.…”