Development of cell-imprinted polymer surfaces for Cryptosporidium capture and detection

• Published in: Water research (Oxford) 2021-10, Vol.205, p.117675-117675, Article 117675
• Main Authors: Sarkhosh, Tooba, Mayerberger, Elisa, Jellison, Kristen, Jedlicka, Sabrina
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biosensor; Cell-imprinted polymer; Cryptosporidium parvum; Molecular imprinting
• ISSN: 0043-1354; 1879-2448
• DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2021.117675

•Development and validation of cell-imprinted polymers (CIP) for C. parvum capture.•Capture efficiency of CIP surfaces is similar or superior to current methods of detection.•Selectivity of CIP surfaces over alternative organisms is shown to be robust. Cryptosporidium parvum is waterborne parasite that can cause potentially life-threatening gastrointestinal disease and is resistant to conventional water treatment processes, including chlorine disinfection. The current Environmental Protection Agency-approved method for oocyst detection and quantification is expensive, limiting the ability of water utilities to monitor complex watersheds thoroughly to understand the fate and transport of C. parvum oocysts. In this work, whole cell imprinting was used to create selective and sensitive surfaces for the capture of C. parvum oocysts in water. Cell-imprinted Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was manufactured using a modified stamping approach, and sensitivity and selectivity were analyzed using different water chemistries and different surrogate biological and non-biological particles. The overall binding affinity was determined to be less than that of highly specific antibodies, but on par with standard antibodies and immune-enabled technologies. These initial results demonstrate the potential for developing devices using cell-imprinting for use in waterborne pathogen analysis. [Display omitted]