Isolation of viruses from water using porous silica

The possibility of isolation of different viruses, hepatitis A virus among them, from water by means of adsorption chromatography on porous silica was demonstrated. Adsorption of viruses on the surface of silica depended on the kind of sorbent, water pH, and the rate of water flow through the column. The maximum elution of the adsorbed virus was observed using buffer solution with pH at least 11.0 and containing 1-2M NaCl. These conditions for adsorption-elution were found to be universal for different enterovirus types. In the field, the developed method was used for testing water specimens from various water bodies (sewage, river water, tap water). No viruses were found in 11 native specimens. Eluates of 4 out of 11 specimens were found to contain enteroviruses, hepatitis A virus among them.