Isolation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Plasmodium berghei</Emphasis> (Malaria) Parasites by Ammonium Chloride Lysis of Infected Erythrocytes

IMMUNOLOGICAL, biochemical and other studies of intra-erythrocytic parasites, such as malaria, would be greatly facilitated if the parasites could be obtained free from erythrocytes. To lyse infected erythrocytes, hypotonic shock¹, sonication², rapid pressure release obtained with the French press³, proteolytic enzyme digestion^4,5, saponin^6,7 and antibody-induced lysis^8,9 have been tried, but these either fail to remove erythrocyte debris completely, or cause structural damage to the organisms.