Acidocalcisomes are rounded electron-dense acidic organelles, rich in calcium and polyphosphate and between 100nm and 200nm in diameter. They were discovered in Trypanosomes but have since been found in Toxoplasma gondii, Plasmodium (which cause malaria), Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (an alga), Dictyostelium discoideum (a slime mould), bacteria and human platelets. Their membranes are 6nm thick and contain a number of protein pumps and exchangers including aquaporins, ATPases and Ca²⁺/H⁺ and Na⁺/H⁺ exchangers. They may be the only cellular organelle that has been conserved between prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. They behave differently in different organisms and therefore it may be possible to design drugs that target acidocalcisomes in parasites but not those in the host.^[1]

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