A lateral flow-based ultra-sensitive p24 HIV assay utilizing fluorescent microparticles.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Diagnostics
• Point-of-Care Testing
• Viral Antigen Detection

Background:

• Current HIV diagnostic tests (NAT, ELISA p24) face challenges in resource-limited settings due to cost, infrastructure needs, and long turnaround times.
• Existing self-performing lateral flow assays lack the analytical sensitivity of current ELISA technologies for HIV p24 detection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel lateral flow assay for HIV p24 antigen detection.
• To achieve high analytical sensitivity and rapid results suitable for resource-limited settings.

Main Methods:

• Development of a prototype lateral flow assay (LFA).
• Evaluation of the LFA's analytical sensitivity for HIV p24 antigen.
• Assessment of the assay's turnaround time.

Main Results:

• The prototype lateral flow assay achieved sub-picogram per milliliter analytical sensitivity for HIV p24 antigen.
• The assay provides results in under 40 minutes.
• The developed LFA addresses key limitations of existing HIV diagnostic methods.

Conclusions:

• The novel lateral flow assay demonstrates potential as a sensitive and rapid diagnostic tool for HIV p24 antigen.
• This technology could significantly improve HIV diagnostics in resource-limited settings.
• Further development may lead to a widely accessible and effective HIV screening method.