The Biospecimen Research Database

Welcome to the newest version of the Biospecimen Research Database (BRD), which accommodates Standard Operating Procedures (SOP). We encourage your contributions to our new SOP library!

The BRD is a free and publicly accessible database that contains peer-reviewed primary and review articles as well as SOPs in the field of human Biospecimen Science.

Each literature curation has been created by a Ph.D.-level scientist to capture the following: (1) relevant parameters that include the biospecimen investigated (type and location, patient diagnosis), preservation method, analyte(s) of interest and technology platform(s) used for analysis; (2) the pre-analytical factors investigated, including those relating to pre-acquisition, acquisition, preservation, processing, storage, and analysis; and (3) an original summary of relevant results. Browse literature curations or submit specific queries using the Advanced Search page with keyword search for specific biomakers or genes, PubMed ID, or pre-analytical factor values (anticoagulant, fixative, reagent, etc).

SOPs are organized in a hierarchy system consisting of two tiers: (1) SOPs, established protocols; and (2) Biospecimen Evidence-based Practices (BEBP), procedural guidelines developed using literature evidence. SOP-tiered documents are a product of the Source organization specified. SOPs shared by external organizations are done so only with their consent, and have not been vetted by BBRB. SOP documents are searchable by keyword, or by curated fields (source organization, tier, applicable biospecimens, and topic) on the Search SOPs page. Related SOP documents are assembled in Compendiums, which are viewable on the SOP Compendiums page. You can also create your own Compendium and download SOPs together rather than individually.

We encourage you to submit SOPs from your lab or institution for inclusion in the BRD by clicking on the Submit an SOP tab or at biospecimens@mail.nih.gov. Individuals and organizations that suggest articles for inclusion in the BRD will receive acknowledgement on the paper's curation page. Articles may be submitted by clicking on the Suggest a New Paper tab or via the email above. Feedback is also welcome.

The BRD is an initiative of the NCI Biorepositories and Biospecimen Research Branch (BBRB).

Featured Paper

RNA quality and gene expression analysis of ovarian tumor tissue undergoing repeated thaw-freezing.

Author(s): Jochumsen KM, Tan Q, Dahlgaard J, Kruse TA, Mogensen O

Publication: Exp Mol Pathol, 2007, Vol. 82, Page 95-102

PubMed

1 study(s)

The study investigated the effects of repeated freeze-thaw events on RNA quality and quantity and gene expression profiles using eight ovarian tumor specimens collected from 1992 to 1997 (“old”) and eight tumor specimens collected from 2004–2005 (“new”). All specimens were stored at -80°C. Each OCT-embedded specimen was placed on a -20°C marble board for 30 sec to 2 min while the it was divided in three equal aliquots during three separate events, from which RNA was extracted and purified. The remaining portion of the OCT-embedded specimen was re-frozen to −80°C between events, which occurred on different days. RNA was stored at -80°C after extraction, measured spectrophotometrically for yield, and by bioanalyzer to determine RNA Integrity Number (RIN) and degradation factor. Four specimens from the “old” specimen set with high or acceptable RNA quality in all three aliquots were analyzed by microarray for gene expression profiles.