tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Environ Pollut
. 2021 Oct 7;292(Pt A):118299.
doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.118299. Online ahead of print.
Airborne microplastics and SARS-CoV-2 in total suspended particles in the area surrounding the largest medical centre in Latin America
Luís Fernando Amato-Lourenço[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Natália de Souza Xavier Costa[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Kátia Cristina Dantas[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Luciana Dos Santos Galvão[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Fernando Negri Moralles[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Suzette Cleuza Ferreira Spina Lombardi[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Alfredo Mendroni Júnior[SUP] 5 [/SUP], José Angelo Lauletta Lindoso[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Rômulo Augusto Ando[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Felipe Gallego Lima[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Regiani Carvalho-Oliveira[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Thais Mauad[SUP] 9 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Microplastics (MPs) have been reported in the outdoor/indoor air of urban centres, raising health concerns due to the potential for human exposure. Since aerosols are considered one of the routes of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) transmission and may bind to the surface of airborne MPs, we hypothesize that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) could be associated with the levels of MPs in the air. Our goal was to quantify the SARS-CoV-2 RNA and MPs present in the total suspended particles (TSP) collected in the area surrounding the largest medical centre in Latin America and to elucidate a possible association among weather variables, MPs, and SARS-CoV-2 in the air. TSP were sampled from three outdoor locations in the areas surrounding a medical centre. MPs were quantified and measured under a fluorescence microscope, and their polymeric composition was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) microspectroscopy coupled with attenuated total reflectance (ATR). The viral load of SARS-CoV-2 was quantified by an in-house real-time PCR assay. A generalized linear model (GzLM) was employed to evaluate the effect of the SARS-CoV-2 quantification on MPs and weather variables. TSP samples tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in 22 out of 38 samples at the three sites. Polyester was the most frequent polymer (80%) found in the samples. The total amount of MPs was positively associated with the quantification of SARS-CoV-2 envelope genes and negatively associated with weather variables (temperature and relative humidity). Our findings show that SARS-CoV-2 aerosols may bind to TSP, such as MPs, and facilitate virus entry into the human body.
Keywords: Aerosols; Airborne microplastic; Public health; SARS-CoV-2 RNA.
. 2021 Oct 7;292(Pt A):118299.
doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.118299. Online ahead of print.
Airborne microplastics and SARS-CoV-2 in total suspended particles in the area surrounding the largest medical centre in Latin America
Luís Fernando Amato-Lourenço[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Natália de Souza Xavier Costa[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Kátia Cristina Dantas[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Luciana Dos Santos Galvão[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Fernando Negri Moralles[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Suzette Cleuza Ferreira Spina Lombardi[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Alfredo Mendroni Júnior[SUP] 5 [/SUP], José Angelo Lauletta Lindoso[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Rômulo Augusto Ando[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Felipe Gallego Lima[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Regiani Carvalho-Oliveira[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Thais Mauad[SUP] 9 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 34626707
- PMCID: PMC8494494
- DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.118299
Abstract
Microplastics (MPs) have been reported in the outdoor/indoor air of urban centres, raising health concerns due to the potential for human exposure. Since aerosols are considered one of the routes of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) transmission and may bind to the surface of airborne MPs, we hypothesize that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) could be associated with the levels of MPs in the air. Our goal was to quantify the SARS-CoV-2 RNA and MPs present in the total suspended particles (TSP) collected in the area surrounding the largest medical centre in Latin America and to elucidate a possible association among weather variables, MPs, and SARS-CoV-2 in the air. TSP were sampled from three outdoor locations in the areas surrounding a medical centre. MPs were quantified and measured under a fluorescence microscope, and their polymeric composition was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) microspectroscopy coupled with attenuated total reflectance (ATR). The viral load of SARS-CoV-2 was quantified by an in-house real-time PCR assay. A generalized linear model (GzLM) was employed to evaluate the effect of the SARS-CoV-2 quantification on MPs and weather variables. TSP samples tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in 22 out of 38 samples at the three sites. Polyester was the most frequent polymer (80%) found in the samples. The total amount of MPs was positively associated with the quantification of SARS-CoV-2 envelope genes and negatively associated with weather variables (temperature and relative humidity). Our findings show that SARS-CoV-2 aerosols may bind to TSP, such as MPs, and facilitate virus entry into the human body.
Keywords: Aerosols; Airborne microplastic; Public health; SARS-CoV-2 RNA.