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Antiprotozoal activity of silver nanoparticles against Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts: New insights on their feasibility as a water disinfectant

Research Authors
Dalia Hassan, Mohamed Farghali, Hanan Eldeek, Mona Gaber, Nahed Elossily, Taghreed Ismail
Research Abstract

Cryptosporidium is a protozoan of extremely medical and veterinary impact; whose oocysts donate a considerable resistant to the water treatment processes. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the impacts of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) on count and viability of the Cryptosporidium parvum (CP) isolated from different tap water samples. The oocysts were exposed to AgNPs at different dosages of 0.05, 0.1 and 1 ppm for several contact times (30 min to 4 h). The results showed a significant decrease in oocyst count and viability in a dose-dependent manner. Additionally, AgNPs at a conc. of 1 ppm for 30 min and 0.1 ppm for 1 h reduced the oocysts by 97.2 and 94.4%, respectively. Comparatively, there was a noticeable increase in the oocyst's viability at 2 and 4 h, which emphasized that the time of contact between AgNPs and CP was not a major influencing factor for successful application of AgNPs in the nano-water treatment.

Research Date
Research Department
Research Publisher
Elsevier (Journal of Microbiological Methods)
Research Rank
Q3 (Impact factor: 2.363)
Research Vol
165
Research Website
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167701219304002
Research Year
2019