METHODS: The halogen lamp was replaced by a low-cost, blue light-emitting diode (LED) lamp. Using a reformulated AO solution, the staining protocol was revised to make use of a concentration gradient instead of uniform staining. To evaluate this new AO diagnostic system, a pilot field study was conducted in the Lake Victoria basin in Kenya.
RESULTS: Without staining failure, malaria infection status of about 100 samples was determined on-site per one microscopist per day, using the improved AO diagnostic system. The improved AO diagnosis had both higher overall sensitivity (46.1 vs 38.9%: p = 0.08) and specificity (99.0 vs 96.3%) than the Giemsa method (N = 1018), using PCR diagnosis as the standard.
CONCLUSIONS: Consistent AO staining of thin blood films and rapid evaluation of malaria parasitaemia with the revised protocol produced superior results relative to the Giemsa method. This AO diagnostic system can be set up easily at low cost using an ordinary light microscope. It may supplement rapid diagnostic tests currently used in clinical settings in malaria-endemic countries, and may be considered as an inexpensive tool for case surveillance in malaria-eliminating countries.
Objectives: The objective of this study was to utilize a chitosan-based nanoparticle system as the delivery carrier for glutamic acid, a model for encapsulated biomolecules to visualize the in vitro release and accumulation of the encapsulated glutamic acid from chitosan nanoparticle (CNP) systems.
Methods: CNP was synthesized via ionic gelation routes utilizing tripolyphosphate (TPP) as a cross-linker. In order to track glutamic acid release, the glutamic acid was fluorescently-labeled with fluorescein isothiocyanate prior encapsulation into CNP.
Results: Light Scattering data concluded the successful formation of small-sized and mono-dispersed CNP at a specific volume ratio of chitosan to TPP. Encapsulation of glutamic acid as a model cargo into CNP led to an increase in particle size to >100 nm. The synthesized CNP exhibited spherical shape under Electron Microscopy. The formation of CNP was reflected by the reduction in free amine groups of chitosan following ionic crosslinking reactions. The encapsulation of glutamic acid was further confirmed by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) analysis. Cell viability assay showed 70% cell viability at the maximum concentration of 0.5 mg/mL CS and 0.7 mg/mL TPP used, indicating the low inherent toxicity property of this system. In vitro release study using fluorescently-tagged glutamic acids demonstrated the release and accumulation of the encapsulated glutamic acids at 6 hours post treatment. A significant accumulation was observed at 24 hours and 48 hours later. Flow cytometry data demonstrated a gradual increase in intracellular fluorescence signal from 30 minutes to 48 hours post treatment with fluorescently-labeled glutamic acids encapsulated CNP.
Conclusion: These results therefore suggested the potential of CNP system towards enhancing the intracellular delivery and release of the encapsulated glutamic acids. This CNP system thus may serves as a potential candidate vector capable to improve the therapeutic efficacy for drugs and biomolecules in medical as well as pharmaceutical applications through the enhanced intracellular release and accumulation of the encapsulated cargo.