Snap-frozen tissue specimens, FFPE pieces of tissue, fluid specimens and other human specimens are collected, processed and stored at Biobank Graz. High quality is ensured by qualified staff, perfect infrastructure and successful quality management.
In cryotanks, snap-frozen pieces of tissue are stored in the gas phase of liquid nitrogen between –140 °C and –160 °C. The tanks are monitored around the clock by an alarm system and 24/7 data recording, thus ensuring the specimens are of the highest quality.
At the Diagnostic & Research Institute of Pathology tissue samples, that were taken during a surgical intervention, are diagnosed. These samples of tissue are processed according to a defined protocol, then fixed in formalin and embedded in paraffin (FFPE). The resulting blocks and sections from more than 1 million patients are stored at room temperature in the manual archive at Biobank Graz. Besides diagnoses and histopathological reports, survival data and sub-collections with digital images are also available for research in an anonymized form.
A robot has been developed for Biobank Graz that aliquots specimens in just a few minutes and then cools them directly to –20 °C in order to guarantee the quality of the specimens.
Round robin tests
Biobank Graz regularly participates in round robin tests in order to continuously check the quality of sample processing and to optimize it if necessary.
Fluid specimens are stored at –80 °C in a completely automated storage system. Entire plates or individual tubes can be put into and taken out of storage. 2D data codes are printed on all the tubes and plates, supporting the overall process.
Biobank Graz has an ISO 9001:2015 certified quality management system. As part of this certification, specimens are processes, stored and documented according to standard operating procedures (SOPs), which guarantee the quality of specimen handling and storage. Some collections also meet the CEN technical specifications and ISO standards.
To optimize specimen management and guarantee the quality of specimens, Biobank Graz uses the most modern equipment and storage systems, for example an automated pipette robot for processing fluid specimens, a walk-in –20° C storage facility (specimens are stored at –80 °C) and an automated fluid sample handler.
