Array assessment of phage-displayed peptide mimics of Human Immunodeficiency Virus type 1 gp41 immunodominant epitope: binding to antibodies of infected individuals.

An array of phage-displayed mimetic peptides representing 18 sequences from the HIV-1 gp41 immunodominant epitope was fabricated on a nitrocellulose membrane. It used to compare the antibody-binding affinity of the peptide and to monitor the immune response of four patients prior to and after the initiation of Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy in parallel assays with several probes using near-infrared fluorescence detection. The proposed multiplexed approach is highly sensitive, consumes less sample and can be used to analyze the immune repertoires of virus-infected individuals.