Magnetic resonance studies of the pathophysiology of murine malaria

The non-invasive and non-destructive aspects of NMR and ESR spectroscopy have prompted a variety of research on the pathophysiological impact of murine malaria. NMR is unique in its ability to monitor intracellular pH non-invasively in a heterogeneous sample, a compartmentalized cell and in a whole organism. It has also been shown to be sensitive to unusual structures and metabolic products in free-living protozoa such as Acanthamoeba (Deslauriers et al. 1982 a ) and Tetrahymena (Deslauriers et al. 1982 b ; Jarrell et al. 1981). Using the appropriate spin probe, ESR can give valuable information on membrane structure (Schreier, Polnaszek & Smith; 1978). It is particularly useful when quantities of material are limited.