Evaluation of the analytical and clinical performance of the Abbott Alinity m instrument for the quantification of HIV-1 RNA plasma viral load in a reference laboratory in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Objectives We sought to evaluate the analytical performance of the Alinity m system (Abbott Molecular) and to compare the clinical performance of HIV-1 assays on the Alinity m and m2000 RealTime platforms (Abbott Molecular). Methods The sensitivity, precision, and accuracy of the Alinity m instrument were determined using a panel of standard samples (n = 46). The carryover effect was assessed by analyzing HIV-negative clinical samples (n = 20). Clinical performance of the Alinity m and m2000 RealTime platforms was compared using surplus HIV-positive patient plasma samples (n = 39). Results The Alinity m HIV-1 assay demonstrated 100% sensitivity, a high precision (coefficient of variation (s/(x) over bar) x 100 <= 1.5% [SD <= 0.05] logarithm to base 10 [log10] copies/mL), and partial accuracy over the quantification range. Analysis of clinical samples suggested that the Alinity m HIV-1 assay does not cause carryover effect and produced a mean bias of 0.209 log10 copies/mL (95% CI, 0.153-0.265) compared with the m2000 RealTime System. Conclusions The Alinity m instrument's performance correlated to that of the m2000 RealTime platform and showed excellent sensitivity, precision, and accuracy, despite producing overquantification not clinically relevant for disease management. Furthermore, use of the Alinity m platform can reduce turnaround time.