Due to the increasing pandemic of Covid-19, the nucleic acid detection PCR tests as the “gold standard” of COVID-19 diagnostic testing are widely used all over the world to determine whether the patient have an active coronavirus infection or not. In order to perform experiments that yield quality results, the nucleic acid detection kits need to be stored properly in order to preserve their activity or integrity.
Pharmaceuticals and biological materials often degrade over time when stored at room temperature, some may also lose integrity at low temperatures, there for they must adhere to precise regulations.
The best storage temperature depending on the type of biological material, the solution it is suspended in, the material’s intended use, and how long the material will be stored. The most common storage temperatures are bench top/room temperature, refrigerated, freezer, ultra-low freezer, and cryogenic freezer storage.
Room Temperature Storage: This type of temperature-controlled storage is typically anywhere from 15℃ to 30℃. This range is suitable for biological materials that contain a preservative (including alcohol, formalin, etc.), including specimens and tissue samples. It is also used for some pharmaceutical products and biological samples that should not be subjected to lower temperatures, as freezing could actually cause degradation.
Refrigerated Storage: In this range, temperatures are from 2℃ to 8 ℃. For preserve materials like enzymes, antibodies, and other biological reagents, it is commonly used as a short-term storage option. These materials will remain viable under these refrigerated temperature conditions and have their structural integrity compromised if they were frozen and thawed.
Freezer Storage: The temperature range related with freezer storage that can span from -20℃ to -40℃. This may also be referred to as “cold chain storage”. This is the recommended temperature storage option is suitable for both short-term and long-term situations, for many different kinds of biological materials, including DNA and RNA. We offer couple of freezers in this temperature range:
Ultra-Low Freezer Storage: Ultra-low temperature freezers are the go-to long-term biological sample storage solution involve the storage of materials in conditions of approximately -80 degrees Celsius, with an acceptable range of -70℃ to -93℃. This extremely low-temperature range can prevent degrading in many types of molecules (including proteins, nucleic acids, and more). It is recommended as to its ability to protect these materials,but it’s essential to consider how those materials are frozen and thawed to ensure quality control.
At those temperature, the recommended Unicorn Medical freezers are:
· -86 Series -86℃ Ultra Low Temperature Freezer (EcoMax)
· -86℃ Ultra Low Temperature Freezer (Saturn)
Cryogenic Freezer Storage: The lowest temperature in the cold storage spectrum are referred to as cryogenic. These temperatures can range from -150℃ to -190℃ and below. This is typically the best option for long-term biostorage because it prevents any and all biological activity cease and the potential of degradation of materials becomes low to none during storage. It’s also the best option for samples that cannot be mixed with a preventative product like blood, tissues, and reproductive specimens, as well as clinical trial materials, should be stored in cryogenic containers.
Here a table of storage temperature guide for a list of biological samples.
