WHY AND HOW TO USE A BIOLOGICAL SPECIMEN BANK IN EPIDEMIOLOGIC AND CLINICAL RESEARCH - METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES

The use of biological specimen banks has proliferated in the last deca de of scientific research. The present paper analyzes some issues that need to be taken into consideration by those researchers who carry ou t studies using biochemical determination as a measure, for example, o f exposure and disease definition. Relevant considerations regarding s pecimen banking at very low temperatures (lower than -70 degrees C) fo r a long time (years) include conditions and temperature of storage. C ryogenic containers (liquid nitrogen tanks and mechanical freezers) ar e described in terms of their potential advantage and disadvantage for biological specimen bank long term storage, freezing conditions (slow and fast freezing) and storage units are also described in terms of s uitability of their use in specimen banks. One of the main aims of a b iological specimen bank is to preserve specimens for future determinat ions to test hypotheses which at the time of the specimen bank establi shment are not yet conceived or for which there are not suitable labor atory techniques. As a consequence, special attention should be paid b y researchers to some important issues when designing a specimen bank. The choice of what to store, where to store, and how to store has a c ritical influence on the development and future scientific use of a bi ological specimen bank. (C) 1998, Medikal Press.