RESUMO
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>A reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) assay was developed for rapid visual detection of HIV-1.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>RT-LAMP primers were designed according to conservative sequences of HIV-1 gag gene, and their sensitivity and specificity were evaluated by the established RT-LAMP protocol with the addition of the hydroxynaphthol blue (HNB) dye prior to amplification. The performance of RT-LAMP on clinical samples was compared with real-time reverse transcription PCR(qRT-PCR).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The RT-LAMP assay showed a high specificity, and its detection limit was 1000 copies RNA per tube. The sensitivity and specificity of this method using 43 clinical samples were 94.6% and 100%, respectively,in comparison with those of qRT-PCR.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>RT-LAMP assay using hydroxynaphthol blue dye does not need expensive instruments, and offer an alternative for the rapid detection of HIV-1 with the potential to be applied in field diagnosis.</p>