the diagnostic capabilities of testing sites in developed countries, as well as resource-limited settings. Despite the advances made by the widespread availability of rapid tests, all antibody-based tests for the detection of HIV exhibit some limitations. HIV-specific antibody typically begins to appear around three weeks post-infection, allowing for detection by most antibody-based assays LY2157299 Abmole Identication de SHISA3 comme gene mediateur de la transition epith elio-mesenchymateuse dans le cancer de la prostate resistant au docetaxel within 3�C6 weeks. The window of time prior to or during early seroconversion may lead to false-negative test results in recently infected individuals. Additionally, accurate diagnosis of infants born to HIV-infected mothers can be challenging if based solely on antibody positivity, since vertically Abmole GSK1120212 transferred maternal antibodies may persist for 12�C18 months after birth. For confirmatory diagnosis of early HIV infection or infant diagnosis, nucleic acid amplification tests are preferred, as HIV-1 RNA can be detected as early as 10�C12 days post infection and HIV-1 DNA and/or RNA are definitive indicators of active infection. In their current form, however, NAAT��s are not feasible for POC testing, because they are timeconsuming, expensive, and technically complicated. To date, the Aptima HIV-1 RNA assay is the only FDA-approved NAAT for the diagnosis or confirmation of HIV-1 infection and it is only suitable for laboratory testing. To meet the needs of HIV-1 diagnosis at the POC, a rapid NAAT that can be performed with minimal training, limited equipment, and a relatively short turnaround time is desirable. The development of a rapid NAAT has proven to be especially challenging since the technology involved in simplifying the test procedure often equates to increased equipment and material costs. Additionally, the reduction in technical complexity should not compromise test sensitivity and specificity. For increased applicability at the POC, an increasing number of novel isothermal amplification techniques have been developed. Isothermal amplification is an attractive alternative to traditional PCR or RT-PCR since thermalcycling is not required, allowing for greater versatility in terms of heating or amplification devices. One such amplification method, termed Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification, has been optimized for the detection of DNA and/or RNA from a wide range of bacterial and viral pathogens, including HIV. LAMP or RT-LAMP exhibits several characteristics that are ideal for integration into a rapid nucleic-acid based diagnostic test. The amplification reaction requires six primers specific for eight separate regions within the target sequence, contributing to the high specificity of the amplification method.