Standardization of a cytometric p24-capture bead-assay for the detection of main HIV-1 subtypes.

•Identified a cross-reactive antibody to p24 of HIV-1 main subtypes and 2CRFs.•Developed a p24 Luminex capture assay and tested against 56HIV-1 isolates.•Compared the performance of the assay with other quantitative methods.•The assay is highly sensitive with the limit of detection at 3.7pg/ml.•Successfully tested to detect virus production in tissue culture supernatant.