COMPARISON OF QIAAMP HCV KIT SPIN COLUMNS, SILICA BEADS, AND PHENOL-CHLOROFORM FOR RECOVERING HUMAN-IMMUNODEFICIENCY-VIRUS TYPE-1 RNA FROM PLASMA

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) pol mutations are responsi ble for HIV-1 resistance to current antiretroviral drugs. HIV-1 RNA ex traction with QIAamp HCV kit spin columns (Qiagen, Chatsworth, Calif.) followed by reverse transcription-PCR successfully recovered a 1,008- bp pol fragment from the plasma of 31 of 34 HIV-1-infected patients th at was suitable for sequencing and recombinant-virus studies. The mini mum HTV-1 RNA concentration required for gene recovery was 30 to 40 co pies/ml, which was similar to the minimal HIV-1 RNA concentration requ ired when phenol-chloroform or silica beads are used for RNA extractio n.