New Delhi

Scientists at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), an autonomous institution under the Department of Science and Technology, have developed a novel diagnostic technology to aid in the early and accurate detection of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) -- a retrovirus responsible for the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

The GQ Topology-Targeted Reliable Conformational Polymorphism (GQ-RCP) platform was initially designed for the fluorometric detection of pathogens like SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind the recent Covid-19 pandemic, said the team.

The novel technology can better detect the HIV genome using G-Quadruplex (GQ) -- a four-stranded unusual and characteristic DNA structure -- via a fluorometric test.

The molecular detection platform, which can be integrated into existing nucleic acids-based diagnostic platforms, offers increased reliability of diagnosis. It also promises to significantly reduce false positives in HIV detection.

HIV-1 remains a persistent global threat to human health as the widely used diagnostics are likely to miss early infections. They also harbour the risk of false positives due to cross-reactivity. Other clinical methods for early detection are also limited by reduced sensitivity and prolonged processing times.

To counter these, the team from JNCASR developed the GQ topology that can reliably detect "HIV-derived GQ DNA through a method called reverse transcription and amplification of a 176-nucleotide-long genomic segment".

They demonstrated “a pH-mediated, facile, single-step quantitative transition of dsDNA into the GQ conformation, which forms the target for detection with remarkable selectivity using a designed benzobisthiazole-based fluorescent probe (TGS64) and setting the stage for the establishment of a reliable diagnostic platform”.

While other recently developed diagnostic assays rely on pre-existing principles for detection, the new research, published in Analytical Chemistry journal, introduced the diagnostic platform which is based on specific and unusual nucleic acid-small molecule interactions identified during the study.

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The GQ-RCP-based platform can be practically adopted for the detection of various DNA/RNA-based pathogens including bacteria and viruses, said the researchers.