Table 2. The four methods studied.

Method	Bead-Beating	Protein Saver Cards	Vortex	Lyse-It
Cost	50 samples—$277	100 cards– $173	1 Vortex—$250-$500	100 slides– $875
# of Steps	23	6	6	6
Time	Hours	30 minutes	Minutes	Minutes
Shelf-Life Product	Years	Years	Years	Years
Product Cold Chain Required	No	No	No	No
# of Equipment Pieces	14	3	1	4
Ease of Use	Complex	Medium	Very Easy	Very Easy
Lysate Pathogenicity	N/A	Dead	Alive	Dead
Lysing Ability to Fragment DNA	Yes	No	No	Yes
Bacteria Shipment Cold Chain Required	N/A	No	Yes	No