Patent ID: 7144697

Claim:
A method for determining the presence of antibodies to HIV in a body fluid, comprising: (a) providing a body fluid; (b) contacting, under conditions which permit immunospecific binding to form a reaction mixture, the body fluid with a composition containing at least one polypeptide of no more than 60 amino acid residues in length and having the following polypeptide sequence: (III) BRU124F1X (SEQ ID NO: 3) W-X-Lys-Ile-Gln-Asn-Phe-Arg-Val-Tyr-Tyr-Arg-Asp-Ser-Arg-Asp-Pro-Leu-Trp-Lys-Gly-Pro-Ala-Lys-Leu-Leu-Trp-Lys-Gly-Glu-Gly-Ala-Val-Val-Ile-Gln-Asp-Asn-Ser-Asp-Ile-Lys-Y-Z wherein W is either a H of the amino terminal NH 2 group of the polypeptide or an additional amino acid bonded to the amino terminal NH 2 group of the polypeptide, the additional amino acid being selected to facilitate coupling of the polypeptide to a carrier protein or to a support; X is absent or Cys-Gly-Gly; Y is absent or Cys; and Z is OH or NH 2 ; and (c) detecting whether immunospecific binding has occurred between the polypeptide and an antibody component of the body fluid in which an immune complex is formed and in which the detection of the immune complex indicates the presence of antibodies to HIV in the body fluid.