Covaris, Inc.

Austin Purdy

James A Laugharn, Jr

Guillaume Durin

Jonathan Sampson

Systems and methods for the high yield extraction and recovery of higher quality target molecule(s) (e.g., DNA, RNA, protein, lipids, metabolites) from blood spots. High quality DNA recovered from dried blood spots can be an input source for high throughput analytical methods, such as for polymerase chain reaction (e.g., qPCR) and/or next generation sequencing (NGS). In various embodiments, at least 20.0 nanograms of nucleic acid (e.g., DNA, RNA), or at least 8.0 milligrams of protein, may be extracted and recovered per an amount of dried blood corresponding to approximately 5 microliters of fresh blood. In some embodiments, a majority (e.g., greater than 50%, greater than 60%, up to 95-100%) of the nucleic acid that is extracted and recovered from the blood spot via focused acoustics may be of a quality suitable for amplification via PCR or NGS.

Methods and apparatuses for processing blood and other biological samples

Systems and methods are described for transfer of tissue samples from a substrate to a vessel, for subsequent processing (e.g., focused acoustic treatment) within the vessel. A transfer apparatus, having a transfer end and a handle end, may be used to collect a sample material from the substrate. When the sample material is collected from the substrate, the transfer end may be placed within a vessel for treatment of the sample material while the transfer end is also located within the vessel. In some embodiments, the transfer end may be decoupled or otherwise separated from the handle end so that only the transfer end portion of the transfer apparatus is located within the vessel during treatment.

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Boston, MA, United States of America

Austin Purdy