Quantifying the degradation of extracellularpolysaccharides of Escherichia coli by CdS quantum dots

Abstract

For the first time, we report the degradative ability of CdS QDs on extracellular polysaccharides of E.coli cells. The optimal concentration at which EPS peak enhancement is observed and beyond which concentration the degradative activity of CdS QDs become significant has been demonstrated. 20 μL L⁻¹ of CdS QDs lead to enhancement of EPS peaks upto incubation time of 3h. Concentration above 50 μL L⁻¹ CdS showed significant EPS degradation. The EPS degradation by the CdS QDs has been quantified and the significance has been statistically analyzed using Tukey-Kramer Multiple comparison test. We have also defined the enrichment and degradation rate and calculated these rates based on the increasing or decreasing of EPS peaks detected from the MALDI-MS spectra.