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Direct quantification of HIV-1 RNA in human plasma by free solution capillary electrophoresis (FSCE)
N Fernández-Arcás1, J L Dieguez-Lucena, J G García-Villanova
1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Málaga, Spain.
Summary:
The levels of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) RNA have been directly quantitated, after an isolation step, in plasma from patients with primary HIV-1 infection by free solution capillary electrophoresis (FSCE) with ultraviolet detection. HIV-1 RNA was detected and quantified at physiological levels by measuring the absorbance by FSCE. All the patients with primary infection showed concentrations in a range of 1.08-1.71 x 10(8) virions/ml of plasma. No signals were observed in seronegative donors. This procedure represents a practical alternative to other methods to quantify HIV-1 RNA and may be useful in assessing the efficiency of antiretroviral agents, especially during the early stage when other conventional viral markers are often negative.