This study presents a simple, robust and environmentally friendly solid phase preconcentration procedure for multielement determination by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) using diphenylcarbazone (DPC) impregnated TiO nanopowder (-TiO). DPC was successfully impregnated onto -TiO in colloidal solution. A number of elements, including Co(II), Cr(III), Cu(II), Fe(III), Mn(II) and Zn(II) were quantitatively preconcentrated from aqueous solutions between pH 8 and 8.5 at a flow rate of 2 mL min, and then eluted with 2 mL of 5% (v/v) HNO. A mini-column packed with 0.12 g DPC impregnated -TiO retained all elements quantitatively from up to 250 mL multielement solution (2.5 μg per analyte) affording an enrichment factor of 125. The limits of detection (LOD) for preconcentration of 50 mL blank solutions (n = 12) were 0.28, 0.15, 0.25, 0.22, 0.12, and 0.10 μg L for Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn, respectively. The relative standard deviation (RSD) for five replicate determinations was 0.8, 3.4, 2.6, 2.2, 1.2 and 3.3% for Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn, respectively, at 5 μg L level. The method was validated with analysis of Freshwater (SRM 1643e) and Lobster hepatopancreas (TORT-2) certified reference materials, and then applied to the determination of the elements from tap water and lake water samples by ICP-OES.

In light of water quality monitoring paradigms shifting to a more holistic approach, it is essential that environmental microbiologists embrace new methodological developments in clinical virology to create rapid, laboratory-free methods for the identification of wastewater pollution. It is widely accepted that routine monitoring of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) does not adequately reflect human health risks associated with fecal pollution, especially risks posed by viruses. Enteric viruses are typically more resistant to wastewater treatment and persist longer in the environment than FIB. Furthermore, enteric viruses often have extremely low infectious doses. Currently, the incorporation of sanitary surveys, short-term monitoring of reference pathogens, exploratory quantitative microbial risk assessments, and predictive ecological models is being championed as the preferred approach to water management. In addition to improved virus concentration methods, simple, point-of-use tests for enteric viruses and/or improved viral indicators are needed to complement this emerging paradigm and ensure microbial safety worldwide.

It is important to consider viruses in water quality because of their incidence as causal agents for diarrhoeal disease, and due to their characteristics, which allow them to survive in changing environmental conditions indefinitely. This study assessed the viral quality of the Umgeni River in South Africa seasonally. A two-step tangential flow filtration process was setup to remove the bacteria and to concentrate the virus populations from large volume water samples. The concentrated water samples contained up to 659 and 550 pfu/mL of somatic and F-RNA coliphages, respectively. Several virus families including , , , , and were found in the river based on the morphologies examined under transmission electron microscopy. All concentrated water samples produced substantial cytopathic effects on the Vero, HEK 293, Hela and A549 cell lines. These results indicate the potential of viruses in the water samples especially from the lower catchment areas of the Umgeni River to infect human hosts throughout the year. The present study highlights the importance of routine environmental surveillance of human enteric viruses in water sources. This can contribute to a better understanding of the actual burden of disease on those who might be using the water directly without treatment.

Individuals with viral infection could possibly emit an infectious aerosol. The distinction between exhaled breaths of infected and healthy individuals should facilitate an understanding of the airborne transmission of infections. In this context, the present study is aimed at distinguishing healthy individuals from symptomatic ones by the study of their exhaled breath. A setup composed of a modified hood connected to an electrical low pressure impactor, which allows for the study of a wide range of particle sizes (from 7 nm to 10 μm), has been developed in order to collect exhaled breaths. This setup has been used with seventy eight volunteers. The results obtained using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) showed that exhaled breaths of individuals without symptoms have statistical similarities and are different from those of individuals with symptoms. This separation was made by the greater proportional emission by individuals with symptoms of particles collected on stages 3 ( = 0.09 μm), 6 ( = 0.38 μm), 8 ( = 0.95 μm), 10 ( = 2.40 μm), and 12 ( = 4.02 μm) of the impactor. There was not a specific size distribution obtained for the individuals with symptoms. As a consequence, further research on the exhaled breath should be undertaken with symptomatic volunteers and would require the analysis of this wide range of particle sizes.