Tissue preservation tool for MDx

DESCRIPTION provided by applicant Innovative tools for solid tissue biospecimen preservation are needed to meet the promise of molecular diagnostics MDx and personalized treatment for cancer diagnoses and disease research Spot On Sciences will develop an efficient and cost effective method for solid biospecimen preservation that can be performed in any location while improving sample stability and accessibility for molecular analyses For this method a small sample is collected from a freshly excised tissue and quickly homogenized in stabilizing buffer The homogenate is applied to absorbent paper within an enclosed cartridge and rapidly dried by a desiccant Once dried analytes including nucleotides proteins and small molecules show stability at room temperature for years Leveraging a novel blood collection device previously developed by Spot On Sciences HemaSpot the enclosed cartridge prevents sample contamination and allows facile shipment to a testing laboratory at ambient temperature with no cold chain requirements The device is pre labeled by bar code for simplified sample tracking Based on well established dried blood spot technology common analytical methods such as RT PCR immunochemistry and LC MS MS are highly compatible with these dried samples The pre cut paper on the HemaSpot device allows for easy removal of sample subsections for molecular analyses and research Preliminary data in our lab suggests feasibility for tissue to be preserved as a dried homogenate on filter paper This study will further explore these results and demonstrate capability for measuring a wide range of analytes including nucleotides proteins and small molecules from the same sample The ultimate goal for this project is to provide a commercial kit for point of care POC diagnostic facilities containing all needed reagents and a simple device for collecting and storing homogenized tissue samples Minimal infrastructure requirements will allow sample collection from any environment including remote rural and low resource areas while providing stable quality samples under a wide range of ambient conditions This innovative method would greatly simplify and reduce costs for biospecimen collection and storage while increasing availability for high quality samples for research and for molecular testing for prognostic and therapeutic benefit for cancer patients PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE New tools are needed to meet the promise of personalized treatment for cancer patients Solid biospecimens from diseased tissue have proved to be a great source of molecular information from which advancements in detection and targets of therapy are derived Spot On Sciences proposes an innovative method to greatly streamline and reduce costs for tissue preservation for molecular analysis In this method a small sample of freshly excised tissue will be homogenized in stabilizing reagent and inserted into a device containing pre sectioned filter paper and drying agent Once dried the samples are stable at ambient temperature A protective cartridge ensures minimal handling and exposure of the preserved biospecimen and one sample can be analyzed for a wide range of biomarkers and numerous diagnostic tests This method will allow sample collection from rural or low resource areas and provide high quality samples from a wide range of environmental conditions