HIV Test Strip
HIV infection continues to occupy the first positions among viral diseases that lead to death. According to some authors, there is still a high risk of an HIV pandemic.
This problem is especially acute in developing countries, because in most cases the disease is detected at a late stage.
In light of these circumstances, work is actively underway to create a screening tool that would be performed as simply as possible, but at the same time would give a reliable result.
Currently used methods of HIV diagnosis have limitations, especially when the level of antibodies to the virus in the blood is too low.
Researchers from King's College London, together with colleagues from the University of London College, have developed a new diagnostic test for HIV. It will be affordable, resistant to environmental conditions during storage and highly sensitive. According to the authors, it will be able to detect the presence of the virus at the earliest possible time after infection.
A team of researchers led by Professor of the Royal College Molly Stevens (Molly Stevens) used the method of immunochromatographic analysis (it is used in pregnancy test strips). If the patient is infected with HIV, the components of the virus present in the blood will bind to the colored components present on the test strip, the test result is positive.
The authors position their development as the most sensitive diagnostic test for HIV to date. In addition, they note the extreme simplicity of its implementation.
The sensitivity of the test allows you to detect the virus even when its content in the blood is minimal.
The test determines the blood content of the protein p24, which is located on the outer shell of the virus and is a biomarker of infection. Standard immunological methods were "enhanced" 100 times with respect to the p24 protein. This allowed us to surpass all existing diagnostic methods.
The idea of the authors of the article is that the test result will be recognized by the smartphone camera using a special application. This will facilitate data collection and interpretation, especially in developing countries.
The test components demonstrate sufficient stability. The authors intend to use the same technique of "enhanced" immunochromatographic analysis for rapid diagnosis of diseases caused by Ebola and Zika viruses.
Article by Loynachan et al. Platinum Nanocatalyst Amplification: Redefining the Gold Standard for Lateral Flow Immunoassays with Ultrabroad Dynamic Range is published in ACS Nano journal.
Aminat Adzhieva, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of Imperial College London: Quick HIV detection method could diagnose early disease.