Patent ID: 7820786

Claim:
A synthetic polypeptide comprising at least three different segments of an HIV polypeptide, wherein the size of each segment is from about 20 to about 60 amino acids, wherein the segments are linked together in the same polypeptide chain but in a different relationship relative to their linkage in said HIV polypeptide, wherein the linkage of the segments impedes, abrogates or otherwise alters at least one function associated with said HIV polypeptide, wherein the sequence of any plurality of segments so linked is different from a sequence contained within said HIV polypeptide, wherein the sequence of at least one of said segments overlaps with the sequence of at least one other of said segments, wherein the sequence overlap is at least 4 contiguous amino acids in length, and wherein the synthetic polypeptide comprises at least 30% of the sequence of said HIV polypeptide.