Stabilization of nucleic acids in urine

2:

• The method of claim 1, wherein the urine preservative comprises:
• imidazolidinyl urea (IDU), diazolidinyl urea (DU) or a combination thereof, and glycine.

3:

• The method of claim 2, wherein the urine preservative includes K3EDTA in an amount of at least five times what would be necessary for inhibition of nuclease activity in a blood sample.

4:

• The method of claim 2, wherein the urine preservative is present in an amount of about 1 to about 20 percent by volume of the specimen container.

5:

• The method of claim 2, wherein the sealed vessel is a single unit dose.

6:

• The method of claim 3, wherein the urine preservative is directly contacted with urine sample or the urine sample is directly contacted with the urine preservative.

7:

• The method of claim 2, wherein the contacting step is performed within about two hours of obtaining the specimen.

8:

• The method of claim 1, wherein the shipping temperature of the sealed specimen container is within a range from about 6° C. to about 37° C.

9:

• The method of claim 1, wherein the sample exhibits a stability for at least about 7 days post treatment.

10:

• The method of claim 1, wherein the step of analysis is performed 1, 2, 4, or 7 days after the specimen is obtained.

11:

• The method of claim 10, where the analysis of the urine sample includes nucleic acids from the preserved urine sample and analyzing the isolated nucleic acids to identify a pathological characteristic.

12:

• The method of claim 1, wherein the method is performed in the absence of refrigeration.

13:

• The method of claim 2, wherein the urine includes one or more of cell free nucleic acids, cellular nucleic acids, DNA, circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), RNA, microRNA (miRNA), or messenger RNA (mRNA).

14:

• The method of claim 2, wherein nucleic acid analysis is performed on one or more of a cell free DNA, circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), cell free RNA, mRNA, or miRNA from within the urine.

15:

• The method of claim 1, wherein the sealed vessel contains preservative composition present in an amount of about 1 to about 15 ml.

16:

• The method of claim 1, wherein the sealed vessel is packaged in a plurality of vial strips of single unit dosages.

17:

• The method of claim 1, wherein the sealed vessel is formed by injection molding.