4.3. Macrophage Infection

For the macrophage infection, these cells interacted with Leishmania strains in the proportion of 10:1. First, 1 × 10⁴ macrophages were counted and transferred to each well, with a total of 24 well plates, and left for adhesion for 12 h in an incubator at 37 °C and 5% CO₂. After that period, the parasites were counted and 1 × 10⁵ promastigotes were added to each well containing macrophages. The internalization period lasted for 24 h in an incubator at 37 °C and 5% CO₂. Finally, the evaluation of the internalization was done by visualization in an inverted microscope Zeiss Axio Vert. A1.