Photoacoustic detection of hemozoin in human mononuclear cells as an early indicator of malaria infection

Jonathan R. Custer; Michael Kariuki; Brenda T. Beerntsen; John A. Viator

doi:10.1117/12.841399

23 February 2010 Photoacoustic detection of hemozoin in human mononuclear cells as an early indicator of malaria infection

Jonathan R. Custer, Michael Kariuki, Brenda T. Beerntsen, John A. Viator

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 7564, Photons Plus Ultrasound: Imaging and Sensing 2010; 75641F (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.841399
Event: SPIE BiOS, 2010, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

Malaria is a blood borne infection affecting hundreds of millions of people worldwide². The parasites reproduce within the blood cells, eventually causing their death and lysis. This process releases the parasites into the blood, continuing the cycle of infection. Usually, malaria is diagnosed only after a patient presents symptoms, including high fever, nausea, and, in advanced cases, coma and death. While invading the bloodstream of a host, malaria parasites convert hemoglobin into an insoluble crystal, known as hemozoin. These crystals, approximately several hundred nanometers in size, are contained within red blood cells and white blood cells that ingest free hemozoin in the blood. Thus, infected red blood cells and white blood cells contain a unique optical absorber that can be detected in blood samples using static photoacoustic detection methods. We separated the white blood cells from malaria infected blood and tested it in a photoacoustic set up using a tunable laser system consisting of an optical parametric oscillator pumped by an Nd:YAG laser with pulse duration of 5 ns. Our threshold of detection was 10 infected white blood cells per microliter, which is more sensitive than current diagnosis methods using microscopic analysis of blood.

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Jonathan R. Custer, Michael Kariuki, Brenda T. Beerntsen, and John A. Viator "Photoacoustic detection of hemozoin in human mononuclear cells as an early indicator of malaria infection", Proc. SPIE 7564, Photons Plus Ultrasound: Imaging and Sensing 2010, 75641F (23 February 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.841399

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