A Biorepository is an institution that stores, catalogs and collects biological material for research purposes. Biorepositories are facilities that collect specimens from animals, plants, and other living organisms. Biorepositories can store many types of specimens including blood, urine, tissue, and cells as well as DNA, RNA, proteins.
If the samples come from individuals, they can be stored along with medical information and written consent for use in laboratory studies. A biorepository's purpose is to preserve biological specimens and related information for future research. The biorepository preserves the quality of its specimens and makes them available for scientific research. However, there are so many world’s premier biorepositories such as Geneticist Inc that help you in providing biosamples.
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A biorepository's four major operations are collection, processing, storage or inventory, and then distribution.
A specimen is collected or added to the biorepository. The specimen's information is recorded into the laboratory information management software ("LIMS") which keeps track of all specimens in the biorepository. The most common information that is linked to a specimen is its origin and arrival date at the biorepository.
Standardization of specimen processing to reduce variation in handling. The specimen may be prepared for storage. To preserve DNA, the samples are placed in a salt buffer (aqueous solution), which is pH adjusted to maintain its stability.
Storage and inventory are the places where all samples are kept before being requested via a distribution request. The inventory system is made up of sample holding boxes. These boxes are kept in freezers that can be customized to meet the specific storage needs.
Distribution refers to the act of obtaining one or more samples from the biorepository inventories system.