We have developed a rapid and quantitative method for the detection of all species of malarial parasites that infect humans. The assay is based on a patented process that can specifically measure Plasmodium sp. lactate dehydrogenase (pLDH). The assay is reproducible and has been standardized with the use of recombinantly expressed pLDH. The sensitivity of the original patented process has been greatly enhanced with the use of dye ligands and antibodies that specifically recognize pLDH. These reagents have been used to rapidly capture the pLDH enzyme and facilitate separation of the enzyme from factors that contribute to background signal. Our current pLDH technology can be formatted as either a "wet" assay or a "dry" dip-stick test that can measure pLDH activity form either whole blood, Red Blood Cells, or serum/plasma. This assay may be used to follow the progress of treatment in the patient and identify drug resistant infections early on. This technology may also be applied to measure the drug-sensitivity of parasites isolated from individual patients. Our current technology, the pLDH test, is now ready for verification in the field.
