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Analytical Chemistry

Acoustic Test For Malaria

Laser-generated bubbles inside parasite signal presence of infection

by Elizabeth K. Wilson
January 13, 2014 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 92, Issue 2

Malaria is one of the world’s deadliest diseases, but current tests for the parasite require skilled blood drawing, reagents, and time. Now, Dmitri O. Lapotko of Rice University and colleagues report that they can detect a single parasite-infected blood cell among a million normal cells in seconds, from the sound of bubbles bursting inside the parasite (Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 2013, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1316253111). When malaria parasites take up host in a blood cell, they produce a heme-based nanocrystal called hemozoin, which is formed when the parasites digest blood. When bombarded by picosecond near-infrared laser pulses, the nanocrystal generates a transient vapor bubble around itself. The acoustic signature of the bubble popping can then be detected. The test is specific, the authors say: No other biosubstances in the human body produce these bubbles. The method can detect malaria in animals when as few as 0.00034% of cells are infected, they say. The technology could be used for high-throughput tests, fabricated into battery-powered handheld devices, and used by minimally trained nonmedical field staff in areas heavily affected by malaria. Human trials of the technology will start this year, the authors say.

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