CQE BioBank

Sample Processing

Two types of tubes are used to collect blood. The white tubes contain clot activator beads that speedup the formation of a blood clot. These tubes are incubated at room temperature for 45 minutes and then centrifuged, separating the cells from the serum. The serum is then collected into sterile vials and stored at -80 ºC.

The pink tubes contain an anticoagulant agent. These allow the isolation of white blood cells and plasma through a process called density gradient centrifugation. The plasma fraction is processed as the serum. White blood cells are either cryopreserved (-196 ºC) or used in cell culture procedures.