A reduced graphene oxide-Fe3O4 composite functionalized with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide for efficient adsorption of SARS-CoV-2 spike pseudovirus and human enteric viruses
Shuqing Zhou, Min Jin, Rong Tan, Zhiqiang Shen, Jing Yin, Zhigang Qiu, Zhengshan Chen, Danyang Shi, Hai‐Bei Li, Zhongwei Yang, Huaran Wang, Zhixian Gao, Junwen Li, Dong Yang
Abstract
The latent dangers of waterborne viral transmission have become a major public health concern. In this study, reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-Fe3O4 nanoparticles were decorated with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) to adsorb severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike pseudovirus and three human enteric viruses (HuNoV, HRV, and HAdV). The successful combination of CTAB with rGO-Fe3O4 was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, zeta potential, Brunner-Emmet-Teller, and vibrating sample magnetometer measurements. The adsorption of HuNoV and HAdV followed pseudo-first-order kinetics, while that of HRV conformed to the pseudo-second-order model. CTAB-functionalized rGO-Fe3O4 exhibited exceptionally high adsorption of HuNoV, HRV, HAdV and SARS-CoV-2 spike pseudovirus, with maximum adsorption capacities of 3.55 × 107, 7.01 × 107, 2.21 × 107 and 6.92 × 106 genome copies mg−1, respectively. Moreover, the composite could effectively adsorb the four types of virus particles from coastal, tap, and river water. In addition, concentrating the virions using CTAB functionalized rGO-Fe3O4 composites before qPCR analysis significantly improved the detection limit. The results indicate that viruses are captured on the surface of CTAB functionalized rGO-Fe3O4 composites through electrostatic interactions and the intrinsic adsorption ability of rGO. Overall, CTAB-functionalized rGO-Fe3O4 composites are promising materials for the adsorption and detection of human enteric viruses as well as SARS-CoV-2 from complex aqueous environments.