Abstract
Understanding the interactions between inorganic nanomaterials and biological species is an important topic for surface and environmental chemistry. In this work, we systematically studied the oocysts of Cryptosporidium parvum as a model protozoan parasite and its interaction with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and graphene oxide (GO). The as-prepared citrate-capped AuNPs adsorb strongly on the oocysts leading to a vivid color change. The adsorption of the AuNPs was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. Heat treatment fully inhibited the color change, indicating a large change of surface chemistry of the oocysts that can be probed by the AuNPs. Adding proteases such as trypsin and proteinase K partially inhibited the color change. DNA-capped AuNPs, on the other hand, could not be adsorbed by the oocysts. GO was found to wrap around the oocysts forming a conformal shell reflecting the shape of the oocysts. Both citrate-capped AuNPs and GO compromised the membrane integrity of the oocysts as indicated by the propidium iodide staining experiment, and they may be potentially used for inactivating the oocysts. This is the first example of using nanomaterials to probe the surface of the oocysts, and it suggests the possibility of using such organisms to template the assembly of nanomaterials.
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