How should a tick be stored before submission? - briefly
Place the tick in a sterile, airtight tube or vial, label it with collection details, and refrigerate at 4 °C (do not freeze) until mailing. Ship the specimen promptly, using an insulated package with a cold pack to preserve the temperature during transit.
How should a tick be stored before submission? - in detail
Proper preservation of a tick specimen before it is sent to a diagnostic laboratory is essential for reliable morphological identification and molecular analysis. The following guidelines outline each step of the process.
After removal, place the tick in a small, vented container such as a 15‑ml screw‑cap tube with a piece of breathable fabric or a loosely fitting lid. This prevents condensation while allowing air exchange, which is important for specimens that will be examined alive for behavioral or feeding studies.
Maintain the sample at a temperature that matches the intended downstream test:
- For morphological work only, store at 4 °C in a refrigerator. Do not freeze, as low temperatures can cause tissue brittleness that obscures key characters.
- For nucleic‑acid extraction, preserve in 70–95 % ethanol. Ethanol should completely cover the tick; replace the fluid after 24 hours if the specimen is large or if the ethanol becomes cloudy.
- For virology or RNA‑based assays, keep the tick frozen at –20 °C or lower. Use a cryogenic tube with a dry‑ice pack or a –80 °C freezer if available. Avoid repeated thaw‑freeze cycles.
Label each container with a unique identifier, collection date, host species, geographic location, and collector’s name. Attach a waterproof label or place the information on a separate sheet inside the tube to prevent loss of data during transport.
When preparing the shipment:
- Place the labeled tube in a secondary sealed bag to contain any leakage.
- Use insulated packaging with cold packs if the specimen is frozen or stored in ethanol at low temperature.
- Include a brief worksheet summarizing the specimen’s metadata and any special handling instructions.
- Follow postal or courier regulations for hazardous materials; ethanol‑filled containers may require classification as a liquid hazardous item.
By adhering to these steps—appropriate container, controlled temperature, correct preservative, thorough labeling, and compliant packaging—the tick remains in a condition suitable for accurate identification and pathogen detection upon arrival at the receiving laboratory.