Arc discharge-mediated disassembly of viral particles in water

• A submerged plasma reactor of arc discharge produces a shockwave, UV, ROS, and RNS in water.
• Underwater arc was used for the disinfection of murine norovirus (MNV-1).
• MNV-1 was effectively inactivated by underwater arc treatment.
• The capsid proteins of MNV-1 were completely dissembled by underwater arc treatment.

In this study, we investigated the inactivation effects on murine norovirus (MNV-1) with/without purification in water using a submerged plasma reactor of arc discharge (underwater arc), which produced a shockwave, UV light, reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species. Underwater arc treatments of 3 and 6 Hz at 12 kV resulted in 2.6- and 4.2-log reductions in the virus titer of non-purified MNV-1 after 1 min of treatment, respectively. The reduction of purified MNV-1 was higher than that of non-purified MNV-1 after underwater arc treatment for all applied conditions (12 or 15 kV and 3 or 6 Hz). One of the viral capsid proteins (VP1) was not detectable after underwater arc treatment, when its integrity was assessed by western blot analysis. Transmission electron microscopy analysis also revealed that MNV-1 particles were completely dissembled by the treatment. This study demonstrates that underwater arc treatment, which was capable of disintegrating the MNV-1 virion structure and the viral capsid protein, can be an effective disinfection process for the inactivation of water-borne noroviruses.

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