Autolab HBH: A Rapid Hyperbaric Heating Device for Streamlined, PCR-Ready Sample Preparation Across Diverse Biological Matrices and Organisms

Abstract

Traditional nucleic acid extraction methods are costly, lengthy, and highly variable depending on the complexity of the sample matrix or the organism of interest. Workflows may exceed twenty steps, require separate kits for RNA and DNA, and demand expensive instrumentation, creating barriers to both speed and scalability. The AutolabTM HBH system addresses these limitations by using hyperbaric heating (HBH) to achieve temperatures above 100 {degrees}C in a sealed, pressurized environment through induction heating, enabling rapid lysis of diverse organisms and neutralization of macromolecular PCR inhibitors within minutes. The combination of extreme heat and HBH-optimized lyophilized reagents rapidly inactivates nucleases while preserving free nucleic acids. The workflow is streamlined to two steps: heating up to 1 mL of sample in the proprietary HBH bullet, followed by a brief centrifugation to pellet additives. The resulting supernatant is immediately compatible with real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and other downstream molecular assays. Here, we evaluate the systems broad compatibility with diverse sample buffers, matrices, and organisms. Comparative testing was conducted alongside Qiagen extraction methods to benchmark performance.