Inactivation of bacteriophages by high levels of dissolved CO2

We developed a system with high levels of dissolved CO2 for water disinfection. Bacteriophages MS2, Qbeta and phiX174 were selected as the inactivation targets. A relatively mild inactivation effect was observed on MS2 and Qbeta at different initial concentrations of dissolved CO2 at 0.3 MPa in 20-30 min. When the pressure was increased to 0.6 MPa, the inactivation of MS2 and Qbeta was differentially improved. However, this system was less effective for the inactivation of phiX174. The capsid surface property is a probable reason for the low inactivation of phiX174. The pH was not a key factor in the inactivation of bacteriophages; moreover, the results obtained using alternative gases (pressurized air and O2) indicated that only CO2 inactivated these bacteriophages. A comparison between the results of real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and plaque assay showed that some RNA moved out from the capsid after treatment. Capsid damage by CO2 expansion was the likely mechanism of inactivation with our method.