Thermo Scientific Showcases Solutions for Biobanks and Biorepositories at ESBB 2011

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has announced that it will showcase its turnkey biobanking solution within booths 13 and 14 at ESBB 2011, taking place from November 16-19, in Marseille, France.

This comprehensive solution set ensures sample quality and addresses the complete biobanking workflow including biospecimen collection, processing, testing and storage, as well as sample and data management.

Thermo Scientific solutions address the unique and complex needs of biobanks and biorepositories while offering scalability and efficiency to organizations of all sizes, from university research labs to contract research organizations, laboratories and large-scale pharmaceutical and biotechnology facilities.

The company delivers the software, equipment, consumables, reagents and services to provide the end-to-end solution required for today’s rapidly changing organizations.

With solutions from both the Thermo Scientific and Fisher BioServices brands, the integrated biobanking portfolio encompasses everything from sample preparation (centrifuges and laminar flow cabinets) and liquid handling equipment (pipettes, automated liquid handling) to cold storage devices (freezers and cryogenic storage) and consumables and reagents for sample preparation, analysis and storage.

The biobanking solution also includes high-end equipment such as mass spectrometers and robotics to automate the biobanking process.

Fisher BioServices is the largest biorepository, managing more than 170,000,000 samples across facilities worldwide. The Thermo Scientific Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) for Biobanks, specifically designed to address the unique challenges of managing biospecimen collection, location, online requests (including consent management and request management), chain of custody, data compliance and security, instrument integration and automation, and client billing, is used to manage this vast biorepository.

“Today, cross-disciplinary collaboration among peers is imperative, and many organizations are extending their reach to collaborate with university hospitals, pharmaceutical and biotech companies, contract research organizations and biobanks. This creates complexity as data and reports must be aggregated in a timely fashion without compromises in accuracy,” said Dave Champagne, vice president and general manager, Informatics, Thermo Fisher.

Champagne continued, “Our turnkey biobanking portfolio fosters collaboration and sharing so our customers can focus on advancing science and making life-saving discoveries.”

Thermo Scientific and Fisher BioServices solutions within booths 13 and 14 at ESBB include:

• Thermo Scientific LIMS for Biobanks. Biobanks require an advanced LIMS to manage biospecimen locations, online request management, data compliance and security, instrument integration, chain of custody and client billing. Thermo Scientific LIMS for Biobanks enables an integrated research information network by improving sample management and facilitating flawless transmission of data between different laboratories, partner organizations and the FDA. Standardizing on a single LIMS solution is a means of achieving easy data sharing and public access to findings.

• Biorepository Services. Fisher BioServices is the world leader in biological specimen management for the life science and clinical research industries. Its global capabilities comprise collection to repository, including transportation, inventory, biorepository services, biological lab processing and other support services. Through Fisher BioServices, the company can store BSL-3 materials, environmental samples, cell lines, tissues and blood products in facilities that are compliant with current good manufacturing laboratory and tissue practices (cGMP, cGLP, cGTP).

• Cold Storage and Freezers: Researchers worldwide protect more than two billion samples inside Thermo Scientific cold storage equipment. The company’s proven cold storage sample protection solutions range from +4C high-performance lab refrigerators to -196C cryogenic freezers. New at ESBB will be the Thermo Scientific Dense Storage system for low-temperature storage of biological samples and solutions. The system combines 1 mL Thermo Scientific Nunc CryoBank tubes with the new 13 x 13 tube dividers and Nunc™ CryoBoxes. This novel Dense Storage format effectively doubles existing storage capacity, which can reduce costs by up to 50 percent while decreasing energy use. Thermo Scientific freezers maximize sample storage capacity while minimizing the freezer’s footprint inside the lab. Five new capacities range in size from 421 - 949 liters (14.9 - 33.5 cu. ft.) and provide a number of options to suit any storage and lab space requirements. The new cabinet design and vacuum panel insulation permit storage of up to 70,000 2mL tubes or 118,300 1mL Thermo Scientific Cryobank tubes.

• Sample Storage and Automation: Integral 2D barcoded tubes and 2D readers offer a unique identifier for all samples, and the barcode scanner software is fully embedded and integrated with Thermo Scientific LIMS, allowing for a more streamlined workflow and automated data management for all samples. New at ESBB is the Thermo Scientific ID Scribe Labware Identifier for consistent and legible labeling of storage tubes, vials and other common labware. By removing the need for hand-labeling, sample misidentification is eliminated and laboratory efficiency is improved.

Also at ESBB, Thermo Fisher will present two workshops: “Efficient Storage of Biological Samples – How to store more samples in your freezer” and “Where In The World Are My Samples.”