There is a need for an HIV-1 antibody test which is specifically designed for field use with saliva, and which is rapid, accurate, convenient, and inexpensive. Such a test would be especially valuable in work with IV drug abusers and prostitutes, where time with the patient is brief and follow-up is difficult. Use of saliva allows for a rapid """"""""on the street"""""""" test, since the time, precautions, and equipment attendant with blood drawing and serum preparation are eliminated. The avoidance of needles makes the assay particularly valuable in testing prison populations. This proposal describes a saliva test which uses a column format to concentrate the antibodies from 1 to 5 mi of saliva onto a small amount of protein A-agarose gel. The presence of antibodies specific for HIV-1 is detected on the gel using biotinylated HIV-1 antigen, and avidin linked to phosphatase. Having demonstrated the accuracy and speed of the test with serum and saliva samples, we now intend to embark on larger-scale testing with several hundred matched saliva and serum samples from control and HIV-1 infected subjects. Several proposals for further improvement of the formatting and sensitivity of the test will prepare it for commercialization.
