title: Detection of Plasmodium falciparum-infected red blood cells by optical stretching.
abstract: We present the application of a microfluidic optical cell stretcher to measure the elasticity of malaria-infected red blood cells. The measurements confirm an increase in host cell rigidity during the maturation of the parasite Plasmodium falciparum. The device combines the selectivity and sensitivity of single-cell elasticity measurements with a throughput that is higher than conventional single-cell techniques. The method has potential to detect early stages of infection with excellent sensitivity and high speed.
authors.forename: Jakob M A
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Mauritz
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tiffert
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Seear
authors.forename: Franziska
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lautenschläger
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Esposito
authors.forename: Virgilio L
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Lew
authors.forename: Jochen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guck
authors.forename: Clemens F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Kaminski
mesh_terms: D055119:Elastic Modulus; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000469:parasitology*; D020342:Finite Element Analysis; D057166:High-Throughput Screening Assays; D006801:Humans; D016778:Malaria, Falciparum / Q000097:blood* / Q000469:parasitology*; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D052898:Optical Tweezers; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000302:isolation & purification*