Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS)
A sustainable alternative to deep-freezing for DNA preservation.
Objective
To assess the technical feasibility of 300K Solutions technology for the dry preservation of DNA samples at room temperature as an alternative to storage at -80 °C. The study aims to determine whether the freeze-drying process affects DNA quality and if significant differences arise when compared to the quality of samples refrozen after freeze-drying.
Materials and Methods
Samples used for the study
DNA samples
40 samples
2-15 years old
-80ºC storage
Procedure
The thawed DNA was subjected to quality evaluation. Thereafter, aliquots of at least 5 µg of DNA were freeze-dried in a final volume of 400 µL.
Once the freeze-drying process was complete and the pellet had been formed correctly, all samples were stored at room temperature in their corresponding boxes.
After a period of one month during which the samples were stored in a desiccated state, a second evaluation of the freeze-dried samples was conducted, with a comparison made to the frozen samples.
Quality Assurance
Ratio A260/280
DNA Concentration
DNA Integrity Number
The DNA was evaluated in accordance with the quality criteria established for the biobank, which included an assessment of the concentration and absorbance ratios 260/280 using a Nanodrop spectrophotometer, agarose gel electrophoresis, and an integrity measurement by Tapestation.
Results
The graph shows the quality of DNA before (blue bars) and after (green bars) freeze-drying (storage at room temperature) and refreezing (traditional storage at -80°C), as a function of previous frozen storage time (between 8 and 15 years).
The quality of the DNA following freeze-drying is virtually indistinguishable from the initial quality, indicating that the stabilisation process at room temperature has minimal impact on the integrity of the DNA.
The results remain consistent regardless of the initial frozen storage time, which was set at -80 °C. This indicates that the technology is suitable for DNA samples that have been stored for extended periods, up to 15 years.
Conclusion
300K DNA Stabilization Solution offers an innovative solution to optimising space in biorepositories by enabling the transfer of frozen DNA collections stored for long periods and with low turnover to room temperature conditions. This not only frees up freezer space, but also reduces the operational costs and environmental impact associated with cold storage.
Presentation of preliminary results at the II Conference of the ISCIII Platforms
As part of the collaboration with IDIBAPS, the preliminary results of the validation of the 300K Solutions technology were presented during the II Conference of the ISCIII Platforms in Biomedicine and Health Sciences.
You can access the full presentation below:
