Film seal assembly and single lid assay cartridge and associated methods

A method of sealing a sample cartridge, the method comprising:

• placing a film seal assembly atop a cartridge body of a sample cartridge having a
• plurality of chambers defined therein, the plurality of chambers including one or more reagent chambers and a sample chamber;
• permanently sealing a bottom layer of the film seal assembly along top edges of the cartridge body, wherein the film seal assembly includes one or more vent openings defined the bottom layer for venting one or more of the reagent chambers;
• and
• releasably and hermetically sealing the one or more vent openings by a top layer of the film seal assembly to seal the one or more reagent chambers during storage and/or transport to the user,
• wherein the top layer is bonded to a single lid of the sample cartridge, wherein when a user opens the cartridge, the top layer peels off from the bottom layer of the film seal assembly, and
• wherein the seal assembly is configured to facilitate release of the hermetic seal by the end user.