Evaluating the Stability of HIV-Specific IgG Under Ambient Conditions via Antibody Assays and Dot Blot Analysis Restricted; Files & ToC

Abstract

With the advent of HIV antibody tests, the distance between patient and clinic has been abstracted, increasing the speed, accessibility, and convenience of knowing one’s status. HIV antibody tests commonly assess the presence of IgG, which is known to have a half-life of around 3 weeks in serum. As more researchers reach for antibody tests in their laboratory toolbox, a key challenge arises with sample stability. In transport to the laboratory or clinic, some samples are delayed, misplaced, and/or face long waits in testing queues, subjecting whole blood to ambient conditions. This study aims to study how HIV-specific IgG concentration in serum is affected by ambient conditions over prolonged periods of time.

Samples were obtained through a blinded HIV study conducted at Emory University, a project monitoring close adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) with viral load. Aliquots of whole blood were taken from these samples to perform antibody screenings, dot blots, and statistical assays. Half were stored for the 10-week duration of the study at ambient conditions (20-22°C), and the other half were stored under controlled, refrigerated (3-5°C) conditions. Original sample plasma was also subject to RT-PCR, quantifying HIV-1 viral load.

When compared to the known range of IgG concentrations in healthy adults, the control and experimental concentrations of IgG were not significantly different under the Kruskal-Wallis test (P = 0.0917). Further data analysis suggests only minimal deviance from IgG concentrations in refrigerated samples occurs in serum stored at ambient conditions. This potentiates the relaxing of the testing window, which could streamline studies in the future.

Table of Contents

This table of contents is under embargo until 10 June 2027

About this Honors Thesis

Rights statement

• Permission granted by the author to include this thesis or dissertation in this repository. All rights reserved by the author. Please contact the author for information regarding the reproduction and use of this thesis or dissertation.

School	Emory College
Department	Biology
Degree	B.S.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Biology, Physiology Biology, General Biology, Cell
Stichwort	AIDS antibody HIV stability viral load
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Colleen Kraft, Emory University
Committee Members	Alexander Escobar, Emory University Donna McDermott, Emory University Skye Comstra, Emory University

Zuletzt geändert

Primary PDF

Thumbnail	Title	Date Uploaded	Actions
	File download under embargo until 10 June 2027	2025-04-21 11:27:02 -0400	File download under embargo until 10 June 2027

Supplemental Files

Thumbnail	Title	Date Uploaded	Actions