CLEOPATRA

CLEOPATRA project aims to investigate how the presence of different kinds of microplastics (MPs) in water influences the stability of viruses, increasing their ability to persist in aquatic microcosms such as wastewater effluents and surface waters. Additionally, the project seeks to optimize methods for the separation and recovery of viruses from MPs, as well as to study the role of biofilms in the stability of these pathogens.

To achieve this, effluents and surface waters from Valencia, previously processed to remove MPs, will be artificially inoculated with different viruses (entering and emerging viruses) and MPs of controlled composition, size and shape prepared in the laboratory. The sizes of these MPs will range from 1 to 5 mm. Additionally, the effect of the environmental aging of MPs on their surface roughness and its possible correlation with an enhanced biofilm growth will be addressed.

Two methods (i.e. sonication and elution) for viral detaching from MPs will be evaluated, whereas Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) will be used to examine the surface roughness of MPs both before and after aging, as well as to detect the formation of biofilms on the MPs surface following incubation in water samples.