A laser capture microdissection lift-off substrate comprising a transparent thermoplastic film is incorporated into substrate which may take the form of a cap or other structure associated with an analysis vessel or which may be used with a holder or other element of a LCM tissue sample transfer apparatus. The thermoplastic lift-off substrate film is held in a fixed position on the substrate which may be relative to a feature of a biological analysis vessel. The film may be affixed to a substrate which is a structure which goes into the vessel such that the sample is held in a fixed position relative to an observation port on the vessel.