Nuclear magnetic resonance: a tool for malaria diagnosis?

Abstract

Malaria control can be improved by rapid, sensitive, low-cost detection of infection. Several such strategies are being pursued. Rapid diagnostic tests can detect infections at parasite densities above 200 μL(-1). Polymerase chain reaction methods can detect low parasite densities, but are slow and prone to contamination under field conditions. Methods that detect hemozoin presence in blood have been proposed as alternatives for rapid detection of infection. In this study, we used a benchtop nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) device to detect hemozoin. This device could be deployed in malaria-endemic settings. We measured synthetic hemozoin in phosphate-buffered saline and malaria parasites in..