Airborne microplastics and SARS-CoV-2 in total suspended particles in the area surrounding the largest medical centre in Latin America.

Autor: Amato-Lourenço LF; Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; Institute of Advanced Studies (IEA) Global Cities Program, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. Electronic address: luisfamato@usp.br., de Souza Xavier Costa N; Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil., Dantas KC; Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil., Dos Santos Galvão L; Chemical Analyses Laboratory, Institute for Technological Research (IPT), Sao Paulo, Brazil., Moralles FN; Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil., Lombardi SCFS; Division of Research & Transfusion Medicine, Pro-Blood Foundation/Blood Center of São Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil., Júnior AM; Laboratory of Medical Investigation in Pathogenesis and Targeted Therapy in OncoImmuno-Hematology (LIM-31), Department of Hematology, Hospital das Clínicas -HCFMUSP, Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil., Lindoso JAL; Department of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; Institute of Infectiology Emilio Ribas, Sao Paulo, Brazil., Ando RA; Chemical Analyses Laboratory, Institute for Technological Research (IPT), São Paulo, Brazil., Lima FG; Heart Institute (InCor), School of Medicine at Sao Paulo University, Sao Paulo, Brazil., Carvalho-Oliveira R; Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil., Mauad T; Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; Institute of Advanced Studies (IEA) Global Cities Program, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987) [Environ Pollut] 2022 Jan 01; Vol. 292 (Pt A), pp. 118299. Date of Electronic Publication: 2021 Oct 07.
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.118299
Abstrakt: 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.
(Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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