A novel DNA-based microfluorimetric method to evaluate antimalarial drug activity

Abstract

This paper describes the development of a novel microfluorimetric assay to measure the inhibition of Plasmodium falciparum based on the detection of parasitic DNA by intercalation with PicoGreen®. The method was used to determine parasite inhibition profiles and 50% inhibitory concentration values of known or potential anti-malarial drugs. Values for parasite inhibition with known anti-malarial drugs using the PicoGreen® assay were comparable with those determined by the standard method based upon the uptake of 3H-hypoxanthine and the Giemsa stain microscopic technique. The PicoGreen® assay is rapid, sensitive, reproducible, easily interpreted, and ideally suited for screening of large numbers of samples for anti-malarial drug development.