Performance evaluation of Puritan® universal transport system (UniTranz-RT™) for preservation and transport of clinical viruses.

The ability of a non-propagating microbial transport medium to maintain the viability of clinically relevant viruses was compared to a similar commercial medium to establish performance equivalence. Two dilutions of stock of test viruses, namely adenovirus (AdV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), echovirus Type 30 (EV), herpes simplex virus (HSV) types 1 and 2, influenza A, parainfluenza 3 (PIV), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and varicella zoster virus (VZV), were spiked into Puritan® Medical Products Company Universal Transport System (UniTranz-RT™) and BD(TM) Universal Viral Transport System (UVT) and incubated at 4 °C and room temperature (RT) for up to 72 hr. Post incubation assessment of recovery of AdV, EV, HSV-2, PIV, and VZV from UniTranz-RT™ and UVT using shell vial assays followed by immunofluorescence staining demonstrated statistically significant differences between both transport media. In general, significantly higher recoveries of AdV, EV, and VZV were found from UniTranz-RT™ than UVT whereas HSV-2 and PIV were recovered better from UVT than UniTranz-RT™, under specific test conditions. The recovery of HSV-1, influenza A, PIV, and RSV showed no significant differences between transport media. Sulforhodamine B-based assay analysis of UniTranz-RT™ lots prior to and at expiration exhibited no cytotoxicity. The overall results of the study validate the full performance of UniTranz-RT™ as a viral transport medium and establish its effectiveness on par with the UVT.

Performance of a 50-gene next generation sequencing panel with post-centrifuge supernatant cytology fluid in non-small-cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: Liquid based cytology (LBC) specimens are increasingly utilized for molecular analysis, as results are comparable to molecular analysis performed on traditional specimens (biopsy or cell block). However, there are few studies demonstrating the long-term viability of DNA in LBC samples. METHODS: In this study, a 50-gene next generation sequencing (NGS) panel was performed on DNA isolated from post-centrifuged supernatant LBC samples of cases of non-small-cell lung carcinoma. Comparison was made to results of an identical NGS panel performed on a concurrent clinical sample (biopsy or cell block). Quality parameters including DNA concentration, total reads, amplicons with reads under 450 and 350, and variant allele fraction were also compared. For a subset of LBC samples, DNA was isolated after being held for varying extended lengths of time after collection (up to 41 days) at 5°C and results compared. RESULTS: Results of NGS mutation analysis were concordant between LBC samples and clinical samples. DNA concentration was on average higher in the LBC samples compared to the clinical samples. The remaining metrics were more variable, but illustrated the adequacy of LBC samples for NGS testing. DNA isolated from LBC samples held for longer periods of time was of good concentration. NGS analysis was successfully performed on all samples, with concordance with results of clinical samples. CONCLUSION: DNA isolated directly from LBC fluid is suitable for NGS analysis. DNA is also stable in LBC preservative for extended periods of time before isolation and NGS analysis can subsequently be successfully performed.

Performance evaluation of two microbial transport media designed for preservation and transport of Chlamydiae, Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma.

The ability of a non-propagating transport device (test device) to maintain the viability of clinically relevant bacteria was compared with a similar commercial device (predicate device) to establish performance equivalence. Test bacteria, namely Chlamydia trachomatis, Chlamydia pneumoniae, Mycoplasma hominis, Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Ureaplasma urealyticum, were inoculated into the test [Puritan Medical Products Universal Transport System (UniTranz-RT(TM))] and predicate (BD Universal Viral Transport System) devices, and incubated at 4 °C and room temperature for up to 72 h. Bacterial viability was assessed at selected time points post-incubation using shell vial assays followed by immunofluorescence staining (for Chlamydia) or by standard culture techniques (for Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma). Results indicated that the Chlamydia strains were equally stable in both test and predicate devices through 72 h storage, at both test temperatures. Quantifiable levels of Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma were recovered from the test and predicate devices throughout the storage period. Low-temperature storage improved bacterial viability when compared with room temperature storage. In addition, the predicate device demonstrated slightly improved performance versus the test device in the context of Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma following 72 h storage. The overall results of the study confirmed the full performance of UniTranz-RT(TM) as a microbial transport medium and established equal performance with the predicate device.