Magnetic separation: a highly effective method for synchronization of cultured erythrocytic Plasmodium falciparum

The magnetic method has been previously utilized to concentrate Plasmodium-infected erythrocytes without any significant influence on the viability of the parasite. We attempted, in this study, to concentrate and synchronize cultivated P. falciparum via the magnetic method. The results of this study showed that the magnetic method effectively synchronized and concentrated P. falciparum with finer demarcation capacity in the erythrocytic asexual cycle of the parasite than currently available synchronization methods. Concentration and synchronization by the magnetic method proved most effective when schizonts were dominant. Therefore, it proved necessary to enhance the synchronization efficiency of the magnetic method by first applying the method currently in use, which renders schizonts dominant. Our study also showed that the intrinsic life cycle of erythrocytic P. falciparum was slightly longer than 48 h observed in natural infection cases, and that the length of the intrinsic life cycles between various P. falciparum strains differed slightly.