--- title: HIV Prevention Gel Shows Promise description: A gel that could be used after sex to protect against HIV is a step closer to reality canonical: https://time.com/23592/hiv-gel/ author: TIME Video article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-03-13T18:09:03.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T06:45:29.778Z article:section: Science og:title: HIV Prevention Gel Shows Promise og:description: A gel that could be used after sex to protect against HIV is a step closer to reality og:url: https://time.com/23592/hiv-gel/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7db514b66433d5aa/69868554adae441687541f21/hiv-1280x720.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1280 og:image:height: 720 og:image:alt: HIV Prevention Gel Might Protect Women Even After Sex og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: HIV Prevention Gel Shows Promise twitter:description: A gel that could be used after sex to protect against HIV is a step closer to reality twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7db514b66433d5aa/69868554adae441687541f21/hiv-1280x720.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # HIV Prevention Gel Shows Promise > Sponsored content. 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Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. by [TIME Video](https://time.com/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Mar 13, 2014 6:09 PM UTC  Getty Images / Universal Images Group by [TIME Video](https://time.com/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Mar 13, 2014 6:09 PM UTC Researchers are a step closer to developing a vaginal gel that could protect women against HIV, according to a study published in [Science Translational Medicine](http://stm.sciencemag.org/), though scientists admit more testing is necessary. The difference between this study and others on prevention gels? This gel was applied and tested after sex. A team of U.S. researchers found that the gel protected five out of six monkeys from an animal-human laboratory strain of HIV when applied shortly before or up to three hours after infection, [the BBC reported. ](http://www.bbc.com/news/health-26535398) Since the drug has the potential to work after HIV exposure, the findings could lead to new ways to fight HIV particularly in cases of rape as the virus continues to spread globally. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/23592/hiv-gel/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/23592/hiv-gel/"},"headline":"HIV Prevention Gel Shows Promise","datePublished":"2014-03-13T18:09:03.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T06:45:29.778Z","description":"A gel that could be used after sex to protect against HIV is a step closer to reality","url":"https://time.com/23592/hiv-gel/","keywords":["HIV","study","Aids"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7db514b66433d5aa/69868554adae441687541f21/hiv-1280x720.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Video","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-video/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7db514b66433d5aa/69868554adae441687541f21/hiv-1280x720.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"HIV Prevention Gel Might Protect Women Even After Sex","caption":"Scientists admit more testing is necessary, but a gel that could protect women from the spread of HIV is one step closer to the marketplace.","creditText":"Getty Images / Universal Images Group","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/hiv/","name":"HIV"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/23592/hiv-gel/","name":"HIV Prevention Gel Shows Promise"}}]}] ```