Pierceable Plugin Cap Suited for Use with Pressure Sensitive Pipette System

A specimen tube system, comprising:

• a specimen tube having a cylindrical body with a specimen tube aperture on a tube end exposing a holding area inside the cylinder;
• and
• a pierceable plugin cap engageable with the specimen tube, having:
• a cylindrical plugin aperture having a top end, a bottom end and a plugin aperture body disposed between the top end and the bottom end, wherein the bottom end comprises a diameter that is smaller than the top end;
• a plurality of sealing rings disposed on an outer circumference of the plugin aperture body, the plurality of sealing rings configured to secure the plugin aperture body to the specimen tube aperture in a water-tight sealed manner, and
• a membrane disposed over the top end to cover the plugin aperture to form a liquid tight seal, the membrane configured to be pierced by a pipette such that the piercing pipette may pass through the plugin aperture.

A method for testing a specimen held in a specimen tube, the method comprising:

• collecting a specimen from a human in a remote location;
• receiving the remotely collected specimen at a local laboratory;
• prepare an elution using the received specimen in specimen tube;
• inserting a pierceable plugin cap in the specimen tube, the pierceable plugin cap having a membrane that seals the specimen in the specimen tube;
• placing the sealed specimen tube in a testing system array;
• maneuvering a pipette to the specimen tube and piercing the membrane with the pipette such that the pipette enters the specimen tube while the membrane remains adhered to an aperture of the pierceable plugin cap;
• dispensing material into the specimen tube;
• and
• retracting the pipette from specimen tube such that materials in the specimen tube remain in the specimen tube.