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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2011 Nov 1.
Published in final edited form as: Antiviral Res. 2010 Aug 13;88(2):143–151. doi: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2010.08.006

Figure 1.

Figure 1

Biological context of Transwell system used to evaluate barrier functioning of thin gel layers. (A) Schematic of microbicide functioning in vivo. Microbicide gels are applied topically prior to challenge by HIV. Gels form layers of approximately 100-500 μm thick on epithelial surfaces. HIV must traverse these gel layers to reach vulnerable tissue. (B) Transwell system simulates HIV transmission in the presence of vaginal gels. A thin gel layer is applied to the Transwell membrane. A suspension of HIV is added to the top compartment. After incubation, levels of HIV in the bottom compartment are quantified using the TZM-bl assay.