Development of an Automated Frozen Sample Aliquotter

自动冷冻样品等分器的开发

• 批准号: 6913060
• 负责人: DALE NORMAN LARSON
• 金额: $ 14.58万
• 依托单位: HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2005
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2005-09-20 至 2007-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/6913060
• 关键词: biomedical automation; biomedical equipment development; clinical research; cryopreservation; human tissue; tissue /organ preservation; tissue resource /registry

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Biorepositories are a valuable resource in translational research for cancer and there are many such repositories in both academic and industrial settings. While these repositories are valuable, they are not immune from cost constraints and the approach to storing biological specimens (e.g., serum and plasma) involves a fundamental cost tradeoff between storing the samples in a larger number of vials each with volumes (100 ¿l to 400 ¿l) suitable for assaying or storing the samples in larger volumes (2 ml or 4 ml) to save freezer space. The first approach avoids downstream aliquotting and has only one freeze/thaw cycle but requires labor to aliquot the fresh sample and is volumetrically inefficient. The second approach requires aliquotting when the samples are requested and as a result the sample experiences a freeze/thaw cycle when it is processed for a study but is volumetrically efficient. A hybrid approach is also pursued where fresh samples are initially stored in a volumetrically efficient format until they are requested for a study and then returned to storage in the volumetrically inefficient format to avoid subsequent freeze/thaw cycles. This project will develop an automated instrument that will offer a new approach, combining the volumetrically efficient storage with the single freeze/thaw cycle. This instrument will extract aliquots from frozen samples without thawing the samples. Not only will this approach reduce the cost of operating these repositories while eliminating the second freeze/thaw cycle associated with the hybrid approach, but because it is automated it will increase the throughput in processing samples, reducing the 6 1/2 weeks to one week for a 1000 sample study, which is typical for the Nurses' Health Study. This team has demonstrated the ability to: (1) maintain the sample at -70 oC during processing; (2) extract aliquots from normal saline frozen at -80 oC, and (3) manage frost buildup during the procedure. The R21 project and the milestones have been developed to address the key technical risks associated with this instrument and the R33 project will deliver a prototype instrument that is suitable for use by the Nurses' Health Study to process samples for their collaborators. The design at this point will be documented well enough to enable its production in our lab in small quantities for use in other biorepositories.

描述（由申请人提供）： 生物储存库是癌症转化研究中的宝贵资源，在学术和工业环境中有许多这样的储存库。虽然这些储存库是有价值的，但它们不能免受成本限制和储存生物标本的方法（例如，血清和血浆）涉及在将样品储存在较大数量的小瓶中（每个小瓶具有适于测定的体积（100升至400升））或将样品储存在较大体积（2毫升或4毫升）中以节省冷冻空间之间的基本成本权衡。第一种方法避免了下游等分，只有一个冻融循环，但需要劳动力来等分新鲜样品，体积效率低下。第二种方法需要在要求样本时进行等分，因此，样本在处理用于研究时经历冻融循环，但体积有效。还采用了混合方法，其中新鲜样品最初以体积有效的形式储存，直到它们被要求用于研究，然后以体积无效的形式返回储存，以避免随后的冻融循环。 该项目将开发一种自动化仪器，该仪器将提供一种新的方法，将体积有效的储存与单次冻融循环相结合。该仪器将在不解冻样本的情况下从冷冻样本中提取等分试样。这种方法不仅降低了操作这些储存库的成本，同时消除了与混合方法相关的第二次冻融循环，而且由于它是自动化的，它将增加处理样本的吞吐量，将1000个样本研究的6个半星期减少到一个星期，这是护士健康研究的典型。 该团队已经证明了以下能力：（1）在处理过程中将样品保持在-70 ℃;（2）从冷冻在-80 ℃的生理盐水中提取等分试样，以及（3）在程序期间管理结霜。 R21项目和里程碑的开发旨在解决与该仪器相关的关键技术风险，R33项目将提供一种原型仪器，适用于护士健康研究，为其合作者处理样本。在这一点上的设计将被充分记录，使其能够在我们的实验室中少量生产，用于其他生物储存库。