Human Biospecimen Research: Experimental Protocol and Quality Control Tools

Abstract

Biospecimen Research evaluates a number of preanalytical variables that can potentially impact the outcome of analytical results but are not related to inherent sample differences. Biospecimen Research is not a new discipline, and a significant amount of relevant data has already been published. Recently, the ISBER Biospecimen Science Working Group compiled publications that focus on Biospecimen Research, which can be found on the ISBER web site, http://www.isber.org/wg/bs.html. Because of the extreme variety in Biospecimen Research experimental designs, it is very difficult to draw scientific conclusions on the stability of samples and biomolecules. Therefore, defining a standard Biospecimen Research protocol would greatly facilitate the harmonization and the advancement of the field. Application of a standard Biospecimen Research protocol would allow comparisons of results obtained by different groups working on related but different approaches to the same problem, or working on the same matrices.