Detection of Plasmodium falciparum-infected red blood cells by optical stretching.
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.
Mauritz
Jakob M A
JM
Tiffert
Teresa
T
Seear
Rachel
R
Lautenschläger
Franziska
F
Esposito
Alessandro
A
Lew
Virgilio L
VL
Guck
Jochen
J
Kaminski
Clemens F
CF
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*