title: Improvement of AMPLICOR human immunodeficiency virus type 1 viral load test (version 1.5) by addition of a coprecipitant during the RNA isolation step.
abstract: The effect of the addition of a coprecipitant during the RNA isolation step on the analytical performance of the COBAS AMPLICOR human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Monitor (version 1.5; Roche) viral load test was tested. Thirty-six specimens including patient samples, positive control samples, and negative control samples were processed in the presence and absence of the Pellet Paint coprecipitant. Specimens processed without the coprecipitant had lower RNA yields, as evidenced by a lower signal for the quantitation standard (QS). In addition, the results for all samples processed with the coprecipitant were acceptable on the basis of the optical density (OD) reading for the QS, whereas the result for one specimen processed without the coprecipitant was unacceptable on the basis of the OD reading for the QS, which required the assay to be repeated. Furthermore, the use of the coprecipitant improved the overall precision of the assay.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-1508, USA.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Yung
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Steven H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.forename: Alan T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Remaley
mesh_terms: D011232:Chemical Precipitation; D004396:Coloring Agents; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000821:virology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014766:Viremia / Q000821:virology
chemical_list: D004396:Coloring Agents; D012367:RNA, Viral