The Applied Biosystems MagMAX Viral/Pathogen Nucleic Acid Isolation Kit for HIV-1 dried blood spots is designed to recover viral RNA from dried blood spots (DBS) and plasma for HIV-1 drug resistance testing. The kit utilizes MagMAX magnetic-bead technology, ensuring reproducible recovery of high-quality HIV-1 viral RNA compatible with downstream applications such as RT-PCR and Sanger sequencing.

Features of the MagMAX Viral/Pathogen Nucleic Acid Isolation Kit for HIV-1 dried blood spots include:
• Automation—workflows designed for the KingFisher Flex and KingFisher Duo Prime systems
• Viral concentration—extracts amplifiable viral RNA from DBS and plasma samples:
    --DBS: >2000 copies/mL
    --Plasma: >1000 copies/mL
• Test duration—less than 60 min (∼30 min DBS lysis + ∼30 min viral RNA extraction)

Benefits of MagMAX magnetic bead–based purification
Magnetic beads offer many benefits compared to other technologies for isolating nucleic acid. Beads bind the nucleic acid more efficiently than glass-fiber filters, resulting in higher and more consistent yields. Additionally, because filters and vacuum manifolds are not used, there is no risk of filter clogging due to cellular particulates in samples. This clogging issue is of particular concern with protein-rich, large-volume samples such as whole blood or plasma that are commonly used for viral testing.