3 ways to improve tissue sample storage efficiency

Tissue sample acquisition, preparation and assessment are time and resource intensive processes. It is hard to save costs and time during these processes without compromising the quality of the sample. With tissue sample storage it is however possible to save resources without altering the quality of the sample.

The storage of frozen tissue samples can be limited by the freezer capacity in a research facility. Acquiring new freezer equipment can be very costly and space consuming. These constraints could limit the scope of a research project and ultimately lead to less valuable research results. To improve the freezer capacity of a research facility, without purchasing new freezer equipment, the efficiency of tissue sample storage in already existing freezers must increase. There are several ways to increase the efficiency inside a freezer.

     1. Determine tube size

It all starts with the size of a tissue sample. For example, for –omics research a researcher doesn’t have to preserve the tissue sample’s morphology. In this type of research it is wasteful to store large pieces of tissue considering the extra space it occupies in the freezer. When the size of the tissue sample is determined based on the purpose of the research, the size of the tissue tube should be determined. To increase storage efficiency and minimize sample, spare volume inside the tissue storage tube should be minimalized. This means that the size of a tissue tube should correspond with the size of a tissue sample.

     2. Arrange tubes

The second method to increase frozen tissue storage efficiency is by evaluating the arrangement of the tubes. Placing tissue tubes into well-organized storage racks and stacking these racks efficiently in freezer racks increases the number of tissue samples that can be stored in a freezer.

     3. Improve traceability

At last, costs can be reduced by improving the traceability of frozen tissue samples. Automating and standardizing of tissue sample storage enables research labs to identify samples quicker. Moreover, improving the traceability of tissue samples reduces sample loss. Being able to work more efficient and limit sample loss increases the chance of a successful research project. Micronic is a company who serves scientists by providing a complete solution for safe and efficient tissue sample storage. Micronic offers tissue tubes in different sizes for different sample sizes. Additionally, the tissue tubes of Micronic are provided with a 2D Data-Matrix code on the bottom of the tube for the complete traceability of tissue samples. The racks of Micronic are designed based on the ANSI/SLAS standards for storage racks, which makes racks as efficient as possible for freezer storage at low to ultra-low temperatures.