Fig. 3

Morphology of hemozoin in schizonts. A Malaria hemozoin (indicated by the red circle) in schizonts, as observed under light microscopy (LM). The white arrow points to the merozoite. B Malaria hemozoin (indicated by the white circle) in schizonts, visualized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The black arrow indicates the merozoite. C Under TEM, hemozoin in schizonts appears as black cotton, with occasional detection of crystal-like structures. D Energy spectrum analysis reveals that this black cotton contains iron, while iron is not detected in merozoites (indicated by white arrows). E Under TEM, hemozoin is observed as a combination of heme polymers and lipids, with the crystal-like heme polymer formed from the lipid matrix. F Upon treatment with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), only the crystal-like structure remains. G During hemozoin formation, heme initially accumulates within a lipid droplet, resulting in the formation of a heme aggregation sphere, which appears as a black cotton-like structure in schizonts. Hz, hemozoin; Li, lipid; hem, crystal-like heme polymer; he, heme aggregation sphere. All scale bars indicate 1 μm