DIAGNOSIS OF MALARIA BY MAGNETIC DEPOSITION MICROSCOPY

PETER A. ZIMMERMAN Case Western Reserve University, Center for Global Health and Diseases, Cleveland, Ohio; Case Western Reserve University, Institute of Pathology, Cleveland, Ohio; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Parasitic Diseases, Chamblee, Georgia; The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Department of Biomedical Engineering/Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland, Ohio

Search for other papers by PETER A. ZIMMERMAN in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
,
JODI M. THOMSON Case Western Reserve University, Center for Global Health and Diseases, Cleveland, Ohio; Case Western Reserve University, Institute of Pathology, Cleveland, Ohio; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Parasitic Diseases, Chamblee, Georgia; The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Department of Biomedical Engineering/Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland, Ohio

Search for other papers by JODI M. THOMSON in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
,
HISASHI FUJIOKA Case Western Reserve University, Center for Global Health and Diseases, Cleveland, Ohio; Case Western Reserve University, Institute of Pathology, Cleveland, Ohio; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Parasitic Diseases, Chamblee, Georgia; The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Department of Biomedical Engineering/Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland, Ohio

Search for other papers by HISASHI FUJIOKA in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
,
WILLIAM E. COLLINS Case Western Reserve University, Center for Global Health and Diseases, Cleveland, Ohio; Case Western Reserve University, Institute of Pathology, Cleveland, Ohio; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Parasitic Diseases, Chamblee, Georgia; The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Department of Biomedical Engineering/Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland, Ohio

Search for other papers by WILLIAM E. COLLINS in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
, and
MACIEJ ZBOROWSKI Case Western Reserve University, Center for Global Health and Diseases, Cleveland, Ohio; Case Western Reserve University, Institute of Pathology, Cleveland, Ohio; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Parasitic Diseases, Chamblee, Georgia; The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Department of Biomedical Engineering/Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland, Ohio

Search for other papers by MACIEJ ZBOROWSKI in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
Restricted access

Although malaria contributes to a significant public health burden, malaria diagnosis relies heavily on either non-specific clinical symptoms or blood smear microscopy methods developed in the 1930s. These approaches severely misrepresent the number of infected individuals and the reservoir of parasites in malaria-endemic communities and undermine efforts to control disease. Limitations of conventional microscopy-based diagnosis center on time required to examine slides, time required to attain expertise sufficient to diagnose infection accurately, and attrition from the limited number of existing malaria microscopy experts. Earlier studies described magnetic properties of Plasmodium falciparum but did not refine methods to diagnosis infection by all four human malaria parasite species. Here, following specific technical procedures, we show that it is possible to concentrate all four human malaria parasite species, at least 40-fold, on microscope slides using very inexpensive magnets through an approach termed magnetic deposition microscopy. This approach delivered greater sensitivity than a thick smear preparation while maintaining the clarity of a thin smear to simplify species-specific diagnosis. Because the magnetic force necessary to concentrate parasites on the slide is focused at a precise position relative to the magnet surface, it is possible to examine a specific region of the slide for parasitized cells and avoid the time-consuming process of scanning the entire slide surface. These results provide insight regarding new strategies for performing malaria blood smear microscopy.

Author Notes

Reprint requests: Peter A. Zimmerman, Center for Global Health and Diseases, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Wolstein Research Building, 4-125, Cleveland, OH 44106-7286. E-mail: paz@case.edu.
  • 1

    Bruce-Chwatt LJ, 1985. Essential Malariology. London: William Heinemann Medical Books.

    • PubMed
    • Export Citation
  • 2

    World Health Organization, 1957. Malaria: Sixth Report of the Expert Committee. Geneva: World Health Organization.

    • PubMed
    • Export Citation
  • 3

    World Health Organization, 1969. Re-examination of the Global Strategy of Malaria Eradication. Geneva: World Health Organization.

    • PubMed
    • Export Citation
  • 4

    Anonymous, 2000. New Perspectives in Malaria Diagnosis. Geneva: World Health Organization.

    • PubMed
    • Export Citation
  • 5

    Snow RW, Guerra CA, Noor AM, Myint HY, Hay SI, 2005. The global distribution of clinical episodes of Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Nature 434 :214–217.

  • 6

    Shiff CJ, Premji Z, Minjas JN, 1993. The rapid manual Para-Sight-F test. A new diagnostic tool for Plasmodium falciparum infection. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 87 :646–648.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 7

    Palmer CJ, Lindo JF, Klaskala WI, Quesada JA, Kaminsky R, Baum MK, Ager AL, 1998. Evaluation of the OptiMAL test for rapid diagnosis of Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum malaria. J Clin Microbiol 36 :203–206.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 8

    Snounou G, Viriyakosol S, Zhu XP, Jarra W, Pinheiro L, do Rosario VE, Thaithong S, Brown KN, 1993. High sensitivity of detection of human malaria parasites by the use of nested polymerase chain reaction. Mol Biochem Parasitol 61 :315–320.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 9

    Mehlotra RK, Lorry K, Kastens W, Miller SM, Alpers MP, Bockarie M, Kazura JW, Zimmerman PA, 2000. Random distribution of mixed species malaria infections in Papua New Guinea. Am J Trop Med Hyg 62 :225–231.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 10

    McNamara DT, Thomson JM, Kasehagen LJ, Zimmerman PA, 2004. Development of a multiplex PCR-ligase detection reaction assay for diagnosis of infection by the four parasite species causing malaria in humans. J Clin Microbiol 42 :2403–2410.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 11

    Moody A, 2002. Rapid diagnostic tests for malaria parasites. Clin Microbiol Rev 15 :66–78.

  • 12

    Zimmerman PA, Mehlotra RK, Kasehagen LJ, Kazura JW, 2004. Why do we need to know more about mixed Plasmodium species infections in humans? Trends in Parasitology 20 :440–447.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 13

    Paul F, Roath S, Melville D, Warhurst DC, Osisanya JO, 1981. Separation of malaria-infected erythrocytes from whole blood: use of a selective high-gradient magnetic separation technique. Lancet 2 :70–71.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 14

    Nalbandian RM, Sammons DW, Manley M, Xie L, Sterling CR, Egen NB, Gingras BA, 1995. A molecular-based magnet test for malaria. Am J Clin Pathol 103 :57–64.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 15

    Fang B, Zborowski M, Moore LR, 1999. Detection of rare MCF-7 breast carcinoma cells from mixtures of human peripheral leukocytes by magnetic deposition analysis. Cytometry 36 :294–302.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 16

    Zborowski M, Fuh CB, Green R, Baldwin NJ, Reddy S, Douglas T, Mann S, Chalmers JJ, 1996. Immunomagnetic isolation of magnetoferritin-labeled cells in a modified ferrograph. Cytometry 24 :251–259.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 17

    Zborowski M, Fuh CB, Green R, Sun L, Chalmers JJ, 1995. Analytical magnetapheresis of ferritin-labeled lymphocytes. Anal Chem 67 :3702–3712.

  • 18

    Zborowski M, Malcheski PS, Savon SR, Green R, Holl GS, Nose Y, 1991. Modification of ferrography method for analysis of lymphocytes and bacteria. Wear 142 :135–149.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 19

    Zborowski M, Malchesky PS, Jan TF, Hall GS, 1992. Quantitative separation of bacteria in saline solution using lanthanide Er(III) and a magnetic field. J Gen Microbiol 138 :63–68.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 20

    Zborowski M, 1997. Physics of the magnetic cell sorting. In: Hafeli U, Schutt W, Teller J, Zborowski M, eds. Scientific and Clinical Applications of Magnetic Microcarriers: An Overview. New York: Plenum Press; 205–231.

    • PubMed
    • Export Citation
  • 21

    Carter V, Cable HC, Underhill BA, Williams J, Hurd H, 2003. Isolation of Plasmodium berghei ookinetes in culture using Nycodenz density gradient columns and magnetic isolation. Malar J 2 :35.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 22

    Snounou G, White NJ, 2004. The co-existence of Plasmodium: sidelights from falciparum and vivax malaria in Thailand. Trends Parasitol 20 :333–339.

  • 23

    Moore LR, Fujioka H, Williams PS, Chalmers JJ, Grimberg BT, Zimmerman PA, Zborowski M, 2006. Hemoglobin degradation in malaria-infected erythrocytes determined from live cell magnetophoresis. FASEB J (in press).

    • PubMed
    • Export Citation
Past two years Past Year Past 30 Days
Abstract Views 259 209 72
Full Text Views 337 13 10
PDF Downloads 190 9 6
 

 

 

 
 
Affiliate Membership Banner
 
 
Research for Health Information Banner
 
 
CLOCKSS
 
 
 
Society Publishers Coalition Banner
Save