We present an attractive ne
w system for t
he specific and sen
sitive detection of t
he malaria-causing
Plasmodium para
sites. T
he system relies on isot
hermal conversion of single DNA cleavage鈥搇igation events catalyzed specifically by t
he
Plasmodium enzyme topoisomerase I to micrometer-sized products detectable at t
he single-molecule level. Combined
wit
h a droplet microfluidics lab-on-a-c
hip platform, t
his design allo
wed for sen
sitive, specific, and quantitative detection of all
human-malaria-causing
Plasmodium species in single drops of unprocessed blood
wit
h a detection limit of less t
han one para
site/渭L. Moreover, t
he setup allo
wed for detection of
Plasmodium para
sites in noninvasive saliva samples from infected patients. During recent years malaria transmission
has declined
world
wide, and
wit
h t
his t
he number of patients
wit
h lo
w-para
site den
sity
has increased. Consequently, t
he need for accurate detection of even a fe
w para
sites is becoming increasingly important for t
he continued combat against t
he disease. We believe t
hat t
he presented droplet microfluidics platform,
whic
h has a
hig
h potential for adaptation to point-of-care setups suitable for lo
w-resource settings, may contribute significantly to meet t
his demand. Moreover, potential future adaptation of t
he presented setup for t
he detection of ot
her microorganisms may form t
he basis for t
he development of a more generic platform for diagnosis, fres
h water or food quality control, or ot
her purposes
wit
hin applied or basic science.
<
h4>Key
words:
h4>
hors" href="http://pubs.acs.org/action/doSearch?action=search&searchText=droplet+microfluidics&qsSearchArea=searchText">droplet microfluidics; hors" href="http://pubs.acs.org/action/doSearch?action=search&searchText=malaria&qsSearchArea=searchText">malaria; hors" href="http://pubs.acs.org/action/doSearch?action=search&searchText=diagnosis&qsSearchArea=searchText">diagnosis; hors" href="http://pubs.acs.org/action/doSearch?action=search&searchText=enzyme+activity+detection&qsSearchArea=searchText">enzyme activity detection; hors" href="http://pubs.acs.org/action/doSearch?action=search&searchText=rolling%5C-circle+amplification&qsSearchArea=searchText">rolling-circle amplification; hors" href="http://pubs.acs.org/action/doSearch?action=search&searchText=lab%5C-on%5C-a%5C-chip&qsSearchArea=searchText">lab-on-a-chip