Abstract: Disclosed herein are methods, reagent kits, and compositions for performing a bisulfite conversion of DNA directly from a biological sample including a patient's urine sample or a slide-mounted FFPE tissue sample. For example, a method of performing a bisulfite conversion of DNA can comprise certain preliminary steps for processing the biological sample and transferring a portion of the processed sample into a reaction vessel containing a bisulfite mixture. The method can further comprise heating the reaction vessel containing the biological sample and the bisulfite mixture at several heating temperatures and subsequently holding the reaction vessel at a holding temperature for a holding period. The method can also comprise certain bisulfite removal steps, desulfonation steps, and removal of the desulfonation solution. A final elution step can yield the converted DNA for further downstream sequencing and analysis.

Abstract: Disclosed are methods for preparing a DNA library directly from a stool sample. The method comprises applying the stool sample directly to a buffer, heating and cooling the buffer, separating a supernatant within the buffer from a precipitate using centrifugation, and transferring the supernatant into a first reaction vessel containing a first reagent mixture to yield a first reaction mixture. The method also comprises subjecting the first reaction mixture to a first PCR protocol, purifying amplicons within the first reaction vessel through a first purification procedure to yield a purified target amplicon solution, transferring the purified target amplicon solution to a second reaction vessel comprising a second reagent mixture to yield a second reaction mixture, and subjecting the second reaction mixture to a second PCR protocol. The method further comprises purifying index-tagged amplicons within the second reaction vessel through a second purification procedure to yield the DNA library.

Abstract: Disclosed are methods and compositions for preparing a DNA library from slide-mounted FFPE tissue samples for downstream next-generation sequencing. In one embodiment, a method of preparing the DNA library is disclosed. The method can comprise applying a droplet of a reagent mixture onto a slide-mounted FFPE tissue sample. The reagent mixture can comprise one or more buffer solutions, a cofactor, a nonionic surfactant, a glycerol solution, a gelatin solution, dNTPs, a DNA polymerase, and a primer pool comprising a plurality of forward primers and reverse primers. The method can also comprise stirring the droplet in a circular motion on the slide while scraping portions of the FFPE tissue sample mounted on the slide to yield a reaction mixture. The method can further comprise aspirating the reaction mixture from the slide directly into a pipette tip and dispensing the reaction mixture into a reaction vessel for further amplification.

Abstract: Disclosed are methods, compositions, and diagnostic kits for the rapid detection of certain types of ?-thalassemia and ?-thalassemia. In some embodiments, a diagnostic kit, reagents, and methods are disclosed for the rapid detection of various ?-thalassemia and ?-thalassemia genotypes in multiple patient samples using real-time PCR. More specifically, in certain embodiments, diagnostic kits, reagents, and methods are disclosed for the rapid detection of up to seven different ?-thalassemia genotypes and twenty different ?-thalassemia genotypes in one single multiplex real-time PCR reaction.

Abstract: Disclosed are methods, compositions, and diagnostic kits for the rapid detection of certain types of ?-thalassemia and ?-thalassemia. In some embodiments, a diagnostic kit, reagents, and methods are disclosed for the rapid detection of various ?-thalassemia and ?-thalassemia genotypes in multiple patient samples using real-time PCR. More specifically, in certain embodiments, diagnostic kits, reagents, and methods are disclosed for the rapid detection of up to seven different ?-thalassemia genotypes and twenty different ?-thalassemia genotypes in one single multiplex real-time PCR reaction.