State of the Art in Preservation of Fluid Biospecimens

Abstract

Fluid biospecimens (blood, serum, urine, saliva, cerebrospinal fluid and bronchial lavage fluid) contain not only cells and subcellular components, but also proteins, enzymes, lipids, metabolites, and peptides, which are utilized as biomarkers. Availability of high-quality biospecimens is a requirement for biomarker discovery. The quality of the biospecimens depends upon preanalytical variables (ie, collection and processing techniques, freeze/thaw stability, and storage stability), which account for >60%-90% of the diagnostic errors. Currently, millions of fluid biospecimens are stored in hundreds of biorepositories across the nation, and tens of thousands of new biospecimens are added to the pool daily. Specimen stabilization is imperative, because fluid biospecimens degrade quickly when kept untreated at room temperature. Achieving a high-quality fluid biospecimen requires understanding the effects of storage processing parameters (eg, freezing and thawing as well as cryo-/lyoprotectant additives) and storage conditions on biomarkers contained within the biospecimens. In this article, we will discuss the main issues related to the stabilization of specific biofluids by reviewing (a) the current preservation and storage practices applied in biobanks/biorepositories and (b) the sensitivity of certain biomarkers to current storage techniques.

Storage of Human Biospecimens: Selection of the Optimal Storage Temperature

“…Millions of fluid biospecimens are currently stored in biobanks around the world. The ability to use these biospecimens for downstream applications depends strongly upon the processing and storage conditions for the biospecimens, 67 leading to uncertainty as to the interpretation of biomarker studies. 68 For instance, a recent study followed the concentration of two serum cancer markers (cancer antigens CA125 and CA15-3) over a 10-year period and observed an increase of 15% in prevalence of these biomarkers as a function of time in storage.…”

A study on the effect of the internal exposure to 210Po on the excretion of urinary proteins in rats

“…Pre-analytical handling and storage condition of bio-specimens (blood, serum, urine, saliva, cerebrospinal fluid and bronchial lavage fluid) can often influence stability of the biomarkers (Hubel et al 2011). Urine bio-specimens stored at low temperature (-20 to -80°C) are known to form a precipitate (mainly composed of calcium oxalate dihydrate) after thawing to room temperature (Saetun et al 2009).…”

Elevating sampling

“…7 A second report put that number at 60–90 percent. 8 Micro- and nanofluidics may address these issues by either enabling point of care (POC) devices that can collect, prepare, process, and output biosamples in the field and on demand. In cases where storage cannot be avoided or POC analysis is not possible a variety of micro- and nanofluidic technologies may be able to circumvent or temper the problems posed by sample heterogeneity resulting from collection and storage.…”