Ahlstrom BioSample 2.0 card: Advancements in RNA preservation and HIV drug resistance genotyping
Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) remains a major global public health issue. Antiretroviral (ARV) drug resistance poses a significant threat to controlling the pandemic, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where access to HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) detection assays is limited. Point-of-care (POC) tests offer a solution, but their complexity remains a challenge.
The use of Dried Blood Spot is becoming increasingly popular for HIV-1 drug resistance genotyping and viral load (VL) monitoring in resource limited settings (RLS). One important issue is the stability of viral RNA in DBS collected, transported, and stored under field conditions in RLS.
In this study, we evaluate the effect of whole blood sample storage on BioSample 2.0 at room temperature and duration on HIV-1 sample RNA integrity.