146 Evaluation of various storage conditions of laboratory testing samples

• Published in: Cryobiology Vol. 67; no. 3; pp. 439 - 440
• Main Authors: Furuta, Koh, Hashiguchi, Teruto, Hidaka, Yoh, Kang, Dongchon, Ikeda, Katsuyoshi, Maekawa, Masato, Matsumoto, Hiroyuki, Matsushita, Kazuyuki, Okubo, Shigeo, Tsuchiya, Tatsuyuki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 01.12.2013
• ISSN: 0011-2240; 1090-2392
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cryobiol.2013.09.152

Background: One of the current big concerns not only for laboratory medicine communities but also for research communities is the quality of human materials. Despite these concerns, few investigations focus on the degradation mechanism surrounding human materials, especially liquid samples. This situation inspires us to attempt the investigation of the human liquid samples and their stabilities in various temperatures for short or long storage. Purpose: The aim of this multi-center study is to clarify the appropriate handling conditions, such as temperature and duration,of human liquid samples.By this clarification we can standardize the handling procedures and minimize the artificial effects to the samples. Materials: We utilized sera, plasmas, and urines of post clinical test samples which were submitted to each clinical laboratory as a routine testing. For this purpose, at least 20 samples were analyzed per each clinical laboratory. By using these samples, the evaluation of various storage temperature and durations based on 38 routine testings were done. Methods: After the routine analytical procedure, submitted each sample was divided into 300μL. Each 300μL sample was stored at room temperature (23°C), 4°C, −20°C, and −80°C without light exposure. Plasmas and urines were stored only at room temperature (23°C), and 4°C. Samples at various temperatures mentioned above were stored for a day (24h), 3days (72h), and 7days (168h). Results: Although the results from each participated facility were still in analyses, one preliminary but intriguing fact was confirmed. Serum LD based on five facilities showed 50–70% decrease at −20°C even after 24h storage. Even 4°C storage for 7days showed at least 10% decrease. Room temperature (23°C), and −80°C showed no remarkable changes. To the contrary, serum amylase showed no remarkable change in our conditioned storages. Conclusions: This study will provide more reliable laboratory testings, assure the qualities of clinical trials, and lastly promote the translational research such as biomarker explorations. This study will also provide the information of index molecules of human liquid samples to the various aspects of life science areas. Additional information: This project is an official project of the Japanese Society of Laboratory Medicine (JSLM). And it started on May 2012. Because of the utilization of patients’ samples, each facility was required to acquire the approval of the institutional review board (IRB) based on the each facility. It took around eight months for all the facilities to be approved by the IRBs. We have already reported the general scheme of this project at the JSLM conference in November, 2012. Source of funding: Each facility’s own budget. Conflict of interest: None declared. kfuruta@ncc.go.jp