Development and application of new storage-technologies for effective and secure cryobanking

HI virus collections are essential instruments for the development of new vaccines, because endless virus variations consistently raise new, unpredictable problems. In studies performed with HIV patients, blood samples are usually analyzed in laboratories located hundreds of kilometers away from sample origin, because of complicated conditions in the field. Thus, essential aspects for transporting blood samples are efficient cryopreservation without loss of viability or functionality, as well as a safe sample identification. Therefore, the Global HIV Vaccine Research Cryorepository (GHRC) was funded by the Bill&Melinda Gates Foundation. Goal of GHRC is to establish the first large-scale centralized biobank for lowtemperature storage of HIV-1 related specimens, providing standardized access to these important samples. Fraunhofer IBMT, member of GHRC designed a novel cryosubstrate, which is securely attached to an electronic memory chip in combination with a conventional barcode and a low temperature RFID-tag to prevent mismatches [1]. The recovery of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) after cryopreservation in the new cryosubstrates showed, especially for small sample volumes (0.1 ml), an increased viability in comparison to the preservation in standard cryovials. For optimization of cryopreservation procedures, an improvement of sample handling and transport conditions is also important. Therefore, the effects of temperature changes on PBMC viability and lymphocyte lethality were investigated.