Single-cell measurements of ion concentrations within the intracellular parasite

Rapid progress has been made in the study of intracellular ion activities of eukaryotic cells through the recent combination of high-resolution microscopy with fluorimetric ion-specific probes. This technique allows a specific ion concentration within a single living cell to be monitored on-line with high temporal and spatial resolution. In this report, Stefan Wünsch, Paul Horrocks, Michael Gekle and Michael Lanzer evaluate the application of single-cell fluorimetry to the study of transport processes in Plasmodium falciparum.