NON-DETERGENT SULFOBETAINES ENHANCE THE RECOVERY OF MEMBRANE AND OR CYTOSKELETON-ASSOCIATED PROTEINS AND ACTIVE PROTEASES FROM ERYTHROCYTESINFECTED BY PLASMODIUM-FALCIPARUM/

A better understanding of the causative agent's biology and the defini tion of new targets for the development of drugs and/or specific immun e responses is necessary to face the spred of drug-resistant malaria i n developing countries and the absence of an efficient vaccine against this most important infectious disease. Non-detergent sulphobetaines enhance the recovery and isoelectric focussing of active Plasmodium fa lciparum proteases, cytoskeleton-associated proteins and Maurer's clef t-associated proteins. This is a significant advantage for the purific ation of such proteins and might help pinpoint their role for red bloo d cell rupture and merozoite release.