Combined membrane filtration and 265 nm UV irradiation for effective removal of cell free antibiotic resistance genes from feed water and concentrate
Krzeminski, Pawel; Feys, Edward; Anglès d'Auriac, Marc; Wennberg, Aina Charlotte; Umar, Muhammad; Schwermer, Carsten Ulrich; Uhl, Wolfgang
Peer reviewed, Journal article
Published version
Permanent lenke
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2659594Utgivelsesdato
2020Metadata
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- Publikasjoner fra Cristin - NIVA [2282]
- Scientific publications [1269]
Sammendrag
The removal of cell free DNA (plasmids) carrying antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) was investigated at bench-scale using ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) membranes commonly applied in water reuse applications. The removal of the plasmid spiked to ultrapure water was determined using a direct qPCR method. More than 99% plasmid removal was achieved by membranes with 1 kDa molecular weight cut off (MWCO). Membranes with lower MWCO showed complete removal under the specific experimental conditions, reaching a maximum log reduction value above 6.6. The concentrate from membrane filtration was further subjected to UV-LED irradiation at 265 nm. The required fluence for 1 log damage was 73 mJ/cm2 for the 267 target bp segment and 23 mJ/cm2 for the 601 target bp segment, respectively. With these two DNA segments, the inactivation rate per segment length was higher for the larger segment, in accordance with a higher pyrimidine and TT content, compared with the smaller fragment. Target DNA was not detectable anymore when using 100 and 300 mJ/cm2 for the 601 and 267 bp segments respectively. The results indicate that membrane filtration, combined with UV-LED treatment of the concentrate, can be an effective measure to remove and inactivate ARGs from water to prevent their release to the environment.