title: Effects of pH and magnetic material on immunomagnetic separation of Cryptosporidium oocysts from concentrated water samples.
abstract: In this study, we examined the effect that magnetic materials and pH have on the recoveries of Cryptosporidium oocysts by immunomagnetic separation (IMS). We determined that particles that were concentrated on a magnet during bead separation have no influence on oocyst recovery; however, removal of these particles did influence pH values. The optimal pH of the IMS was determined to be 7.0. The numbers of oocysts recovered from deionized water at pH 7.0 were 26.3% higher than those recovered from samples that were not at optimal pH. The results indicate that the buffers in the IMS kit did not adequately maintain an optimum pH in some water samples. By adjusting the pH of concentrated environmental water samples to 7.0, recoveries of oocysts increased by 26.4% compared to recoveries from samples where the pH was not adjusted.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico 88003, USA.
authors.forename: Ryan C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Kuhn
authors.forename: Channah M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Rock
authors.forename: Kevin H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Oshima
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002021:Buffers; D016785:Cryptosporidium parvum / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D018189:Immunomagnetic Separation / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D008280:Magnetics; D051379:Mice; D010270:Parasite Egg Count; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D014867:Water / Q000469:parasitology*
chemical_list: D002021:Buffers; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D014867:Water