Quality control
Setting broad standards for quality of biological specimens was initially an underdeveloped aspect of biobank growth. There is currently discussion on what standards should be in place and who should manage those standards. Since many organizations set their own standards and since biobanks are necessarily used by multiple organizations and typically are driven towards expansion, the harmonization of standard operating procedures for lab practices are a high priority. The procedures have to be evidence-based and will change with time as new research and technology becomes available.Policy makers
Some progress for the creation of policy-making organizations include the National Cancer Institute's 2005 creation of the Office of Biobanking and Biospecimen Research (OBBR) and the annual Biospecimen Research Network Symposia. The International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories, International Agency for Research on Cancer,Quality goals
Quality criteria for specimens depends on the study being considered and there is not a universal standard specimen type. DNA integrity is an important factor for studies which involve whole genome amplification. RNA integrity is critical for some studies and can be assessed by gel electrophoresis. Also biobanks, which do specimen storage, cannot take full responsibility for specimen integrity, because before they take custody of samples someone must collect and process them and effects such as RNA degradation are more likely to occur from delayed sample processing than inadequate storage.Samples stored
Biorepositories store various types of specimens. Different specimens are useful for different purposes.Storage techniques
Many specimens in biobanks are cryopreserved. Other specimens are stored in other ways.Techniques associated with biobanks
Some of the laboratory techniques associated with biological specimen storage include phenol-chloroform extraction, PCR, and RFLP.See also
* Zoological specimenReferences
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