Simple histidine-rich protein 2 double-site sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for use in malaria drug sensitivity testing

A simple double-site sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for Plasmodium falciparum in vitro drug sensitivity tests based on measuring histidine-rich protein 2 (HRP2) is presented. The ELISA uses two commercial monoclonal antibodies and provides a drastically cheaper alternative to the test kits previously used in the HRP2 drug sensitivity test. The assay is simple to establish and perform. The sensitivity is comparable and the drug sensitivity results very closely match those obtained with the commercial ELISA kits (R-2 = 0.979; P < 0.001; mean log difference at the 50% inhibitory concentration = 0.07).