RESUMEN
The introduction of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) testing in cervical cancer screening enhanced the opportunity to introduce self-collection as an innovative approach to improve coverage rates. Validation and standardization of the pre-analytical and analytical procedures are crucial for the quality assurance of HPV tests on self-collected samples. This study evaluated the analytical performance and the stability of self-collected vaginal samples resuspended in 5 mL of two non-alcohol-based media, eNat® and MSwab® compared to a professionally collected cervical sample, resuspended in 20 mL ThinPrep®, for the detection of high-risk HPV (hrHPV). The impact of the suspension volumes on analytical performance was also evaluated (2 and 5 ml). A good analytical concordance in hrHPV detection in cervical and vaginal self-collected swabs suspended in 5 ml of both non-alcohol-based media was demonstrated (eNat®: 91.2 %, k = 0.821; MSwab®: 91.4 %; k = 0.798). A similar analytical performance was found for samples resuspended in 2 mL (eNat®: 92.9 %, k = 0.811; MSwab®: 92.9 %, k = 0.811) compared to cervical samples. Good nucleic acid stability was demonstrated for vaginal samples stored at 20-25 °C and 37 °C for up to 4 weeks. Results of this preliminary study support the introduction of these media for vaginal self-sampling-based prevention programs. Nevertheless, further research is necessary to evaluate clinical accuracy in larger settings.
RESUMEN
Microbial adhesion and transport are significantly influenced by their hydrophobicity. Various domains, such as biofouling, bioremediation, wastewater treatment, oil recovery, pathogenesis, implant infections, and several other microbial disciplines, make use of hydrophobicity assessment. One easy assay for assessing the microbial surface hydrophobicity is the microbial adhesion to hydrocarbons (MATH) test which works on the differential partitioning of microbes at a hydrocarbon-aqueous interface. Unfortunately, a standard protocol for this test is still unavailable, even though it has been widely studied and it is known that the results are sensitive to the operating parameters used. This study has been envisaged to investigate the effects of variations in the MATH test parameters on the hydrophobicity results. For this purpose, six different test parameters (vortex duration, phase separation period, hydrocarbon-aqueous phase volume ratio, hydrocarbon selection, absorbance wavelength, and suspension medium) were varied. Four different Gram-negative bacteria were used for experimentation. It was observed that except for phase separation period, all other test parameters significantly influenced the hydrophobicity results. Furthermore, the hydrocarbon saturation of the suspension medium was a critical factor for growth medium suspensions. This study is expected to guide researchers in selecting the appropriate values of test parameters for MATH tests and enhance our understanding of this technique and pave the way for developing a standardized protocol.