Abstract: Malaria, caused by the parasite Plasmodium, is a devastating disease killing more than 800,000 people a year worldwide. Plasmodium replicates within erythrocytes by digesting hemoglobin, producing haemozoin as a byproduct which accumulates within the parasite. The development of vaccines is hampered by lack of memory immune response, while the long-term effectiveness of current anti-malaria drugs is limited due to the emergence of drug-resistant strains. Furthermore, people who are deficient of the enzyme glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase exhibit fatally-adverse drug effects. To overcome these hurdles, I propose a novel laserbased, non-pharmacological treatment for malaria. The treatment is based on the ability of haemozoin to convert light in the near infra-red into ultra-violet (UV) radiation via Third Harmonic Generation. The UV light produced by haemozoin can in turn kill the parasite.

Abstract: A specific binding assay method and test kit for determining a ligand, particularly an antigen or hapten, in, or the ligand binding capacity of, a liquid medium, particularly a body fluid such as serum, wherein the liquid medium is combined with assay reagent means including a labeled binding component, such as a radiolabeled form of the ligand, with the improvement that separation of the resulting bound-species and free-species of the labeled component is accomplished by selectively adsorbing the free-species onto a solid comprising a nonion-exchange cross-linked polyvinyl alcohol. The method is particularly suited to the radioimmunoassay detection of nonproteinaceous haptens such as thyroxine, triiodothyronine, estriol, vitamin B.sub.12 and digoxin. The polyvinyl alcohol adsorbent provides a very effective and readily available separation means for use in specific binding assays.

Abstract: A specific binding assay method and test kit for determining a ligand, particularly an antigen or hapten, in, or the ligand binding capacity of, a liquid medium, particularly a body fluid such as serum, wherein the liquid medium is combined with assay reagent means including a labeled binding component, such as a radiolabeled form of the ligand, with the improvement that separation of the resulting bound-species and free-species of the labeled component is accomplished by selectively adsorbing the free-species onto a solid comprising a nonion-exchange cross-linked styrene polymer. The method is particularly suited to the radioimmunoassaydetection of nonproteinaceous haptens such as thyroxine, triiodothyronine, estriol, vitamin B.sub.12 and digoxin. The styrene polymer adsorbent provides a very effective and readily available separation means for use in specific binding assays.