How to Detect Malaria with The Help of Magnet?

Malaria is a mosquito-born disease caused by a parasite. People infected from malaria experience fever, chills and flu-like illness. If not treated on time it may cause severe problems.

How To Detect Malaria Using Just A Magnet?



CDC REPORT ON MALARIA

            In 2016, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 216 million cases of malaria were reported worldwide and 445,000 people died most of them were from African Region. About 17,000 cases of malaria are being reported in the US each year. The vast majority of cases in united states are in travelers and immigrants returning from areas where malaria transmission occurs, most of the form SUB SAHARAN AFRICA and SOUTH ASIA 



In developing countries, it is a big challenge to provide care to patients with a limited budget and limited access to advanced technology. World health organization is interested to find a simpler way to detect malaria, as malaria is the most widely reported disease in poor countries of the world.

                 When the University of South California Professor of material engineering and sciences Andrea Armani heard about this challenge she started research along her students to find a simpler way to detect malaria. Andrea Armani and her team invented a very simplest and inexpensive way to detect malaria.

 They found that the blood of infected people is contaminated by the malaria parasite. Parasite once inside starts consuming hemoglobin. Ingesting hemoglobin produces a byproduct called heme which is harmful to both parasite and host red blood cell. To protect itself and host cell-parasite turns heme into hemozoin and stores it inside the bubble in the host cell. When there is no more hemoglobin to consume the red blood cell pops this releases both hemozoin and parasite into the bloodstream. A parasite is going to infect more red blood cells while hemozoin remains in the blood. Since the natural materials in the blood are non-magnetic but hemozoin was found magnetic. Hemozoin is the dark magnetic particle. After this research professor, Andrea Armani and her team invented a simple device which takes advantages of magnetic properties of hemozoin.

Test Procedure




     

  • Take a few drops of blood and add it to a tube with soap in it. soap bursts open the red blood cells. 
  • Shine a laser on it and measure the intensity of light passing through it. 
  • Then keep the piece of magnet next to a tube and make exact same measurement. 
  • It there is hemozoin in blood they will get attracted toward the magnet and more amount of light will pass through it this time.