Hologic, Inc.

Paul MacLean

Erin Coffman

Steven Hecht

Anthony P Shuber

Howard B Kaufman

The present disclosure describes a method of treating a sample comprising cells with a process of partial lysing. Cells are exposed to a process such as bead beating that lyses some cells in the mixture. The process generates a resultant sample mixture that is suitable for both cell morphology screening and genetic screening.

Method of partial lysis and assay

The present disclosure describes a method of treating a sample comprising cells with a process of partial lysing. Cells are exposed to a process such as bead beating that lyses some cells in the mixture. The process generates a resultant sample mixture that is suitable for both cell morphology screening and genetic screening. A first portion of the partially lysed sample can be mounted on a slide and observed for atypical cells and cytologic abnormalities. A second portion of the partially lysed sample can be screened for genetic markers known to correlate with a risk of cervical cancer. The method is particularly useful for cervical screening, where a combination of cytology and genetic screening present a more complete picture of cervical health. The disclosed method streamlines the diagnostic process for protocols that require both types of assays, without compromising screening accuracy.

A wash solution for remediating lubricant contamination in cytological specimens includes a Tris-based alkaline buffer solution. The buffer solution may be prepared in methanol, and may include a proton-rich protein, or a basic amino acid, such as arginine, lysine, or guanidine. A method for remediating a specimen contaminated with lubricant includes using the wash solution and/or adding a salt to the final vial prior to preparing the microscope slide. The method may include adding the wash solution to the specimen, centrifuging the specimen and wash solution to form a supernatant and cell pellet, decanting the supernatant, and adding a preservative solution to the cell pellet. The method may further include adding salt to a vial containing the preservative solution and cell pellet.

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Marlborough, MA, United States of America

Paul MacLean