Polymers for use in the monitoring and treatment of waterborne protozoa

Protozoal pathogens especially Cryptosporidium and Giardia spp. are recognized worldwide as important pathogens, which cause diarrheal disease in humans and animals. The environmentally stable cysts or oocytes are impervious to inactivation by many drinking water disinfectants and the existing detection techniques are time consuming with low recovery rates. These factors have lead to calls for reliable, rapid and economical approaches for concentrating and simultaneously identifying the (oo) cysts. Use of synthetic organic polymers is an important aspect of water treatment, and bipolymers of biological origin are currently deemed as potential alternatives. Polymeric materials diverse and can concentrate biological entities such as viruses and bacteria and thus can be envisaged as potential candidates for targeting oocytes. Outcomes of systematic studies targeted in elucidating the role of functional groups, wettability, and roughness of cysts in polymer adherence may offer leads for future applications of polymers. In this paper we summarize the existing knowledge on factors governing adherence of oocytes to solid surfaces and polymers. Finally, this chapter makes recommendations of future work bringing together different perspectives of the use of natural and synthetic polymers in different applications.