New Advances in Storing Tissue Specimens

As the demand for biorespositories expands, spurred by genomic mapping, new developments are underway to improve the safety and security of tissue specimens and storage facilities. These advances were described by Jim Vaught, Ph.D., biorepository coordinator, U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI), at the annual meeting of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) in Chicago, IL (USA).

One new advance is the use of blood spot cards, the first alternative to standard specimens. Using whole blood samples processed on a blood spot card, new technology can purify and amplify DNA directly from the card. Another new development is the collection and use of buccal cells, which is much more convenient and less invasive than donating blood. Cells are collected via a mouthwash sample sent to a processing laboratory.

New two-dimensional bar coding is more advanced than linear bar coding, requiring novel software and hardware but increasing the amount of information that can be embedded in the code. The future will also see more use of robotics and other automation, since the necessity to collect and process large numbers of specimens in a short time for DNA extraction and genetic testing will require that many processes be automated.




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