How can samples be preserved?
• Fresh: Tissues are placed immediately in media (typically DMEM or RPMI) in a clean container. If desired, antibiotics may be added to inhibit bacterial growth. The sealed container is stored at 4C and shipped on ice, unless otherwise specified by the researcher. • Frozen: Tissues are placed in a clean container and stored at -70C. Tissues are shipped on dry ice. • Snap frozen: Tissues are placed in a clean container and immediately snap frozen either in liquid nitrogen or in a dry ice/ethanol bath. Tissues are stored at -70C and shipped on dry ice. There is a surcharge for this procedure. • OCT: Small tissue samples are placed in a specialized cassette, covered with freezing medium and snap frozen as above. • Fixed: Tissues are submerged in 10% buffered formalin and maintained at room temperature for storage and shipping. • Paraffin embedded: Tissues are fixed in 10% buffered formalin and sent to a specialized processing facility for embedding in a paraffin block. There is a surcharg
