The DZNE Biorepository Facility mission is to build a state-of-the-art, automated high-throughput cryopreservation system for biomaterials and to store, organize, harmonize and catalog these biomaterials under optimal conditions. For DZNE researchers, we offer the service of storing human or other biomaterial collections safely and efficiently over a long period of time and, if necessary, shipping or transferring the biomaterials accordingly.
Biomaterials are stored according to Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs), which have been developed by DZNE employees and comply with official guidelines ISO 9001 and Good Laboratory Practice (GLP).
The Biorepository sees itself as a service for the physical storage of biomaterials. The biomaterial extraction, processing and related data protocols are subject to the individual research areas, as well as sample access decisions.
Sample receipt and shipment takes place in the laboratory. Customers send samples (e.g. blood) in special tubes to the biorepository for storage at -80°C in freezers or at -196°C in liquid nitrogen. In the laboratory, the samples are recorded by scanning the barcodes/QR codes which results in them being deposited in software. The samples are sorted into the assigned storage locations. With the help of the software, samples can be retrieved from different storage locations and then returned to the customer upon request.
In the freezer room are the -80°C freezers. Each freezer contains some drawer racks where the samples of the customers are sorted. Each freezer is constantly monitored for temperature so that the quality of the samples is not damaged.
The main warehouse houses the fully automated nitrogen tanks. These are connected to each other via a rail system. Furthermore, a "sample station" is integrated into the rail system. There, the sample transport vessels filled with liquid nitrogen and the samples are sent onto the rail system via special sluices. The transport vessels are moved into the tanks by using a shuttle. Within the tank, the samples are removed from the transport vessels by a gripper and sorted into their assigned storage locations. Each tank is constantly monitored to ensure that the quality of the samples is not damaged.
