Deposition kinetics of MS2 bacteriophages on clay mineral surfaces

The deposition of bacteriophage MS2 on bare and clay-coated silica surfaces was examined in both monovalent (NaCl) and divalent (CaCl(2) and MgCl(2)) solutions under a wide range of environmentally relevant ionic strength and pH conditions by utilizing a quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D). Two types of clay, bentonite and kaolinite, were concerned in this study. To better understand MS2 deposition mechanisms, QCM-D data were complemented by zeta potentials measurements and Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) interaction forces calculation. In both monovalent and divalent solutions, deposition efficiencies of MS2 increased with increasing ionic strength both on bare and clay-coated surfaces, which agreed with the trends of interaction forces between MS2 and solid surface and thus was consistent with DLVO theory. The presence of divalent ions (Ca(2+) and Mg(2+)) in solutions greatly increased virus deposition on both silica and clay deposited surfaces. Coating silica surfaces with clay minerals, either kaolinite or bentonite, could significantly increase MS2 deposition.