Collection, transfer and storage of biospecimens: innovative solutions

The pre-analytical step is very important in any scientific inquiry and also in molecular pathology it should not be overlooked.

In fact, tissues to be analyzed are not sampled directly by the operator conducting the investigation and this is a critical aspect of this phase.

Sample is removed by surgeon/ nurse and then sampled by pathologist/ technician for the histological procedure.

Examining the situation to find a proper solution, we have found that grossing procedures can be gathered in four main groups, according to:

• How samples are received: fresh or already fixed tissues
• Grossing Mode: immediate sampling or blocking after O/N fixation

We have noticed that the use of dedicated technologies in the preanalytical phase of the chain leads to many benefits, in terms of costs, safety, quality of the results in all the above listed scenarios.

In particular, our research has demonstrated that the routine transportation of under-vacuum sealed samples allows to get optimum results in terms of booth good histological quality and of quantity of material available for molecular analysis