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Abstract
Recent SARS-CoV-2 wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) surveillance studies have reported that several bioactive ingredients formulated in detergents, surface active agents, emulsifiers, and disinfection products in wastewater could significantly compromise WBE efforts by suppressing SARS-CoV-2 signals. A comprehensive, reliable, and robust analytical method is needed to quantify these bioactive molecules to assess the impacts of these compounds on SARS-CoV-2 wastewater surveillance results, and to evaluate the required action (e.g., correction factor) to achieve more reliable and unbiased surveillance results. In this study, a multi-residue analytical method was developed to quantify a selection of 19 bioactive compounds commonly found in the wastewater discharged from industrial facilities. The analytes were identified and quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC–MS/MS) using multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) or single ion recording (SIR). The recovery rate (%) ranged from 60±0.64% to 112.5 ± 12.7%. The detection limit of the developed method ranged from 0.4 µg/L to 57.7 µg/L. The developed analytical method was applied to quantify these reactive molecules in the effluent of 65 wastewater treatment facilities located in Missouri, USA. The stability of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater was evaluated in the presence of 4-nonylphenol (4-NOPH), dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid (DBSA), bisoctyldimethyl ammonium chloride (BDAC), C12-C14-Alkyl(ethylbenzyl)dimethylammonium chloride (C12-C14-AEDC) and lauroyl peroxide (LAPE). The compounds were reacted with wastewater containing SARS-CoV-2 for 24h. The suppression rates (SR%) were 35%, 51%, 62.1% and 66% when 4-NOPH, BDAC, C12-C14-AEDC and LAPE were added, respectively. The developed robust and sensitive analytical method could be incorporated into SARS-CoV-2 wastewater-based epidemiology surveillance studies to determine the concentrations of these chemical suppressors. Correction factors could then be developed to achieve more reliable and unbiased surveillance results for wastewater treatment facilities that receive wastewater from industries.
