A bioanalytical method for HIV detection based on surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is described. The assay targeted the peptide p17-1. This peptide sequence is present in the protein p17, a structural protein essential in the life cycle of the human immunodeficiency retrovirus (HIV). The antibody anti-p17 was immobilized in a planar gold surface using self-assembled techniques. This planar platform was used to capture the target analyte (p17-1 peptide). The peptide detection was carried

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... out using specially designed SERS probes, consisting of gold nanoparticles coated with a Raman reporter molecule (Nile Blue A) and functionalized with anti-p17. This sandwich assay led to the successful detection of the peptide p17-1 at 40.8 ng/mL levels. The sandwich assay described here demonstrated that the SERS technique can rival more common fluorescence methods, such as ELISA, in the detection HIV-type virus.