A novel DNA-based microfluorimetric method to evaluate antimalarial drug activity

This paper describes the development of a novel microfluorimetric assay to measure the inhibition of Plasmodium falciparum based on the detection of parasitic DNA by intercalation with PicoGreen(R). The method was used to determine parasite inhibition profiles and 50% inhibitory concentration values of known or potential antimalarial drugs. Values for parasite inhibition with known anti-malarial drugs using the PicoGreen(R) assay were comparable with those determined by the standard method based upon the uptake of H-3-hypoxanthine and the Giemsa stain microscopic technique. The PicoGreen(R) assay is rapid, sensitive, reproducible, easily interpreted, and ideally suited for screening of large numbers of samples for anti-malarial drug development.