Comparison of a Formulated Transport Medium and EDTA Anticoagulant in Kenyan Field Isolates from Maseno Division against a Panel of Antimalarials Using SYBR Green I technique

In vitro drug sensitivity relies on the growth of plasmodium in the presence of the antimalarials. These fresh isolates brought in for assay from collection sites normally not near the laboratory require a medium to keep the parasites viable in order to produce results which are a representation of the field situation in terms of drug susceptibility. This study validated the use of a formulated transport medium (TM) by assaying 322 Plasmodium falciparum field isolates from patients visiting Chulaimbo sub county hospital in Maseno division, for 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC50) against four antimalarials using SYBR Green 1 in vitro assay. These samples were transported using a formulated transport medium (TM) and the conventional EDTA anticoagulant tubes to act as control. The similarity which was detected with no significant difference (P >0.05) observed in the medians inhibitory concentration 50 (IC50) between samples in the EDTA anticoagulant and TM warrants its continued use. However, dihydroartemisinin (DHA) which showed to have a correlation significance (p<0.05) with most of the drugs used, calls for more research to expound on this finding