Figure 1

Comparison of single cuvette and 96-well Plasmodium falciparum transfection methods. In the traditional single-cuvette protocol (left), large amounts of a single plasmid construct are mixed with RBCs in a single cuvette for electroporation. Following addition of parasites, the culture is maintained manually in large flasks. In the plate-based method (right), up to 96 different plasmid constructs can be simultaneously transfected into RBCs using a 96-well electroporation plate. Parasites are added and the resulting cultures are maintained and monitored in 96-well format using a high-throughput liquid handler, without the need to scale up. Reporter assays, drug selection of parasites carrying stable episomes and generation of knockouts can all be efficiently performed in 96-well format.