Use of loop-mediated isothermal amplification of DNA for the rapid detection of HIV/AIDS related opportunistic infections (CMV &TB) in clinical specimens.

This review will describe about the loop mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) and its advantages in detection of opportunistic infections in HIV infected individuals. HIV infection is the strongest risk factor for development of tuberculosis (TB) and Cytomegalovirus (CMV) conversely both TB and CMV are the commonest HIV-associated opportunistic diseases worldwide. Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) can amplify DNA with high specificity, efficiency and rapidity under isothermal condition. One of the great advantages of the LAMP assay is that amplification can be monitored with the naked eye using SYBR green dye. This sort of detection system is easy and helpful in discriminating infectious and non infectious samples. In view of the advantages of rapid amplification, and easy detection, LAMP has potential applications for clinical diagnosis in developing countries without requiring experienced persons and sophisticated equipment.