How Biobanking Fosters Research and Innovation
What is biobanking?
Biobanking is the process of collecting, storing, and distributing human biological samples, such as blood, urine, tissue, and DNA, for future research purposes.
The samples are stored in specialized facilities, called biobanks, along with related data and donor information. Biobanks use different storage methods, such as mechanical freezers, liquid nitrogen tanks, refrigerators, and ambient temperature storage, depending on the type of sample and the intended use.
The biobank manages the distribution of samples and data to researchers or other institutions, to ensure correct sample tracking and patient privacy. All biobanks have a committee to approve or decline access.
This allows researchers to analyze diseases and develop new treatments and therapies – ultimately leading to a more personalized approach to healthcare
Safeguarding samples and data
Protecting valuable samples and associated data in biobanks enables medical researchers to do what they do best: create a healthier tomorrow.
More specifically, biobanks can:
Biobanking enables researchers to study the biological basis of diseases, identify new biomarkers, and develop new treatments and therapies.
Biobanking allows researchers to identify patients who are at risk for certain diseases and develop personalized treatments based on their individual genetic profiles.
Biobanking provides researchers with access to large, diverse sample collections, which can help accelerate drug discovery and development.
Biobanking facilitates collaboration between researchers and institutions, allowing for the sharing of samples and data to advance medical research.
Automation in Biobanking
Automation has become an essential tool for improving the quality and efficiency of the biobanking process. Here are 4 reasons why:
1. It improves sample quality.
Automated systems can ensure that samples are collected, stored, and processed under the same conditions every time, reducing the risk of contamination and other errors that can compromise sample quality. This consistency and quality control is essential for ensuring that the samples are usable for research.
2. It increases efficiency.
Biobanks handle large volumes of samples, which can be time-consuming and labor-intensive to manage. Automation can help to streamline the process, reducing the time and effort required to collect, store, and process samples.
3. It enhances data management.
Automated systems can collect and track data on each sample, including information on collection dates, storage conditions, and any other relevant information. This data can then be easily accessed by researchers, allowing them to better understand the samples they are working with and make more informed decisions about their research.
4. It improves sample tracking.
Automated systems’ ability to track each sample from collection to storage, reduces the risk of lost or misplaced samples. This is especially important for large biobanks that handle thousands of samples at a time.
Our Tracking Solution
Our multi-scanner, ScanID, is designed to make data management and sample tracking easy and secure.
ScanID’s patent-pending technology offers both 1D and 2D scanning in one device and can scan an entire rack of sample tubes in one go, allowing you to not remove the tubes from their rack when scanning.
ScanID can be used as a stand-alone device or with the flowbot ONE liquid handler.
After scanning the racks can be placed on the pipetting robot, flowbot® ONE, which now holds the sample IDs for further processing.
This will ensure effortless documentation and eliminate any critical sample misplacement errors – making it ideal for biobanking.
Related readings
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