July 24, 2023
Applied Molecular-Based Quality Control of Biobanked Samples for Multi-Omics Approach
Michalska-Falkowska et al. MDPI 2023
This study highlights the significance of quality assurance in biobanking facilities, specifically in the context of high-throughput research and novel molecular techniques. We established specific quality management workflows utilizing biospecimens collected from oncological patients in Polish clinics. The process for serum/plasma samples involved essential steps, such as monitoring hemolysis, controlling RNA extraction, assessing cDNA library quality and quantity, and evaluating NGS raw data before bioinformatics analysis. Pathologic evaluation of fresh frozen tissue samples was conducted to verify histological images and determine tumor content. Consequently, we developed workflows for preanalytical quality control of serum/plasma and fresh-frozen tissue samples, which can be tailored to individual biobank capabilities. These integrated molecular-based quality control methods ensure that biobanking procedures fulfill the requirements of high-throughput assays, offering access to biospecimens of confirmed omics-grade quality. We strongly recommend implementing these workflows for specimen qualification before conducting multi-omics assays, as they exhibit exceptional sensitivity and specificity.