Comparing infrared spectroscopic methods for the characterization of Plasmodium falciparum-infected human erythrocytes

Abstract

Malaria, caused by parasites of the species Plasmodium, is among the major life-threatening diseases to afflict humanity. The infectious cycle of Plasmodium is very complex involving distinct life stages and transitions characterized by cellular and molecular alterations. Therefore, novel single-cell technologies are warranted to extract details pertinent to Plasmodium-host cell interactions and underpinning biological transformations. Herein, we tested two emerging spectroscopic approaches: (a) Optical Photothermal Infrared spectroscopy and (b) Atomic Force Microscopy combined with infrared spectroscopy in contrast to (c) Fourier Transform InfraRed microspectroscopy, to investigate Plasmodium-infected erythrocytes. Chemical spatial distributions of selected bands and spectra captured using the three modalities for major macromolecules together with advantages and limitations of each method is presented here. These results indicate that O-PTIR and AFM-IR techniques can be explored for extracting sub-micron resolution molecular signatures within heterogeneous and dynamic samples such as Plasmodium-infected human RBCs.

Mid-Infrared Photothermal Microscopy: Principle, Instrumentation, and Applications

“…91 Local biochemical variability was also demonstrated within single, healthy red blood cells via MIP imaging. 92 Label-free MIP imaging is very sensitive to protein amounts and secondary structures, thus opening new possibilities of dynamic protein analysis in living neurons. Real-time MIP imaging of oligodendrocytes was reported to investigate cellular dynamics during division, apoptosis, and migration.…”

“…The high sensitivity of MIP to biochemical variations has enabled differentiation between lung cancer cells and normal cells . Local biochemical variability was also demonstrated within single, healthy red blood cells via MIP imaging …”

Blood Viscosity in Subjects With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Roles of Hyperglycemia and Elevated Plasma Fibrinogen

“…In pathological conditions, these alterations could result in impaired blood flow and other aspects of vascular complications. For example, the malariainfected RBCs show progressing alteration of their mechanical and adhesive properties as the parasite develops (Zhang et al, 2015;Dearnley et al, 2016;Banas et al, 2021). These changes greatly affect rheological properties of malaria-infected RBCs and lead to obstructions of small capillaries (Shelby et al, 2003;Fedosov et al, 2011a).…”

Optical photothermal infrared spectroscopy can differentiate equine osteoarthritic plasma extracellular vesicles from healthy controls

“…500 nm spot diameter). This scheme has been used to interrogate tissue samples, mammalian cells 15,16 and bacteria 17 but this is the rst study, to our knowledge, to use it in EV or OA studies.…”