Main > MALARIA > Process Mimicking. > Org.: USA. U (MicroFluidic Device) > NPLS Contents

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AUTHORS use PDMS channels with diam. ranging from 2 to 8 micro.m. The device allows the mech. aspects of what happens in capillaries to be studied.
Red blood cells infected with the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum are allowed to flow through the channels. As the life cycle of the parasite advances, the cells become increasingly rigid & they clog the capillaries because they are unable to deform themselves to fit through them.
We show that many of the features that pathologists have seen in tissue sections from patients who died from malaria can be explained just from the mech. properties. The ability of mature, infected red cells to concentrate at the mouth of the capillary can be explained purely in terms of mech. properties. This might be a useful platform to use to screen for drugs that target malarial red blood cells. There are a few drugs that alleviate the symptoms of severe malaria. It will be interesting to see what happens physically to the cell as those drugs are applied & how its rigidity changes


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