Abstract: A method of determining the presence or absence of a target nucleic acid in a cell sample, said method comprising: a) contacting a surface comprising anion exchange moieties with the sample under conditions suitable to induce binding between the cells and said surface; b) separating the surface with the bound cells from the remaining sample to collect the cells; c) releasing nucleic acids from the cells and d) generating a hybrid between the target nucleic acid and a probe specific for the target nucleic acid e) detecting the presence or absence of the hybrid. The present invention is provides a rapid and automatable method, wherein cells, such as epithelial cells originating from cervical swab samples, are collected from the surrounding liquid medium, such as a liquid based cytology medium, by binding them to an anion exchange surface.