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Magnetic separation: a highly effective method for synchronization of cultured erythrocytic Plasmodium falciparum

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Abstract

The magnetic method has been previously utilized to concentrate Plasmodium-infected erythrocytes without any significant influence on the viability of the parasite. We attempted, in this study, to concentrate and synchronize cultivated P. falciparum via the magnetic method. The results of this study showed that the magnetic method effectively synchronized and concentrated P. falciparum with finer demarcation capacity in the erythrocytic asexual cycle of the parasite than currently available synchronization methods. Concentration and synchronization by the magnetic method proved most effective when schizonts were dominant. Therefore, it proved necessary to enhance the synchronization efficiency of the magnetic method by first applying the method currently in use, which renders schizonts dominant. Our study also showed that the intrinsic life cycle of erythrocytic P. falciparum was slightly longer than 48 h observed in natural infection cases, and that the length of the intrinsic life cycles between various P. falciparum strains differed slightly.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by a grant from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2007-E00032-00).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, Gachon Medical School, 1198, Kuwol-1-dong, Namdong-gu, Incheon, 405-760, Republic of Korea

    Sun-Young Ahn, Mi-Young Shin, Young-A Kim, Ji-Ae Yoo, Dong-Hwan Kwak, Yun-Jae Jung & Jae-Won Park

  2. Department of Biochemistry, Gachon Medical School, 1198, Kuwol-1-dong, Namdong-gu, Incheon, 405-760, Republic of Korea

    Gyo Jun

  3. Department of Occupational Medicine, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 108, Pyung-dong, Chongno-gu, Seoul, 110-746, Republic of Korea

    Seung-Ho Ryu

  4. Department of Internal Medicine, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 108, Pyung-dong, Chongno-gu, Seoul, 110-746, Republic of Korea

    Joon-Sup Yeom

  5. Department of Laboratory Medicine, Gachon Medical School, 1198, Kuwol-1-dong, Namdong-gu, Incheon, 405-760, Republic of Korea

    Jeong-Yeal Ahn

  6. Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, 28, Yongon-dong, Chongno-gu, Seoul, 110-799, Republic of Korea

    Jong-Yil Chai

Authors
  1. Sun-Young Ahn
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  2. Mi-Young Shin
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  3. Young-A Kim
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  4. Ji-Ae Yoo
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  5. Dong-Hwan Kwak
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  6. Yun-Jae Jung
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  7. Gyo Jun
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  8. Seung-Ho Ryu
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  9. Joon-Sup Yeom
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  10. Jeong-Yeal Ahn
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  11. Jong-Yil Chai
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  12. Jae-Won Park
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jae-Won Park.

Additional information

Sun-Young Ahn and Mi-Young Shin contributed equally to this work.

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Ahn, SY., Shin, MY., Kim, YA. et al. Magnetic separation: a highly effective method for synchronization of cultured erythrocytic Plasmodium falciparum . Parasitol Res 102, 1195–1200 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-008-0893-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-008-0893-8

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