Atomic force microscopy of Plasmodium-infected red blood cells: detecting and localizing single molecular recognition events.

Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) is a powerful tool for exploring the interaction between ligands and receptors, as well as their exact locations on the red cell surface. Here we discuss current and future applications for AFM based single-molecule force spectroscopy to study adhesion of Plasmodium-infected red blood cells. A protocol is provided for simultaneous topography and recognition imaging of the surface of Plasmodium falciparum-infected cells using CD36 functionalized tips.