The Five Most Common Forms Of Sample Abuse
Most scientists care for their samples, and seek the best for them. But not all scientists are as diligent as they might wish to be, or might think that they are. Blame it on the pace of modern life, the pressure to cut the dry ice budget, or the need to follow a celebrity trial on the Internet, but too often it is the poor, defenseless sample which bears the brunt of less than completely rigorous handling. It’s sadly true.
The best weapon in the fight against sample abuse is knowledge. Familiarize yourself with the five most common forms of Sample Abuse, and assess whether any of these situations may have occurred in your own lab, or even—perish the thought—by your own hand.
#1. Indecent Cryoprotectant Exposure.
Many scientists think they’re safeguarding their cells by using cryoprotectants such as DMSO during freezing, but in reality they are leaving the innocent exposed to the membrane-corrupting effects of the evil side of this compound. Proper cell protection requires minimizing delays in freezing time, which can unfortunately be extended through dry-ice-only tube freezing, or even through use of alcohol-filled freezing containers.
#2. Rack Ghettos.
We all claim to want the best for each and every one of our samples, and like to imagine that every 96 well plate is the embodiment of equality. But if that were true then there would be no “edge effect” where a plate cools or thaws more slowly or quickly in wells at the edge of the plate, where there is more exposure to the ice or water bath. How many scientists have rationalized away the potential impact of this variability in their experiments? How many of us have turned our backs on the hardships borne by these outsiders?
#3. Method Inconsistency.
Cooling and thawing samples is critical to the health of the samples and the success of the science, and one would expect caring scientists to cool and thaw consistently from sample to sample, experiment to experiment. But too often scientists use dry ice on one occasion and liquid nitrogen another. Sometimes we use crushed ice, but other times we make an ice-bath. This inconsistent, unequal treatment is abuse perpetrated upon these samples, who will deliver the best, most reproducible results only when you treat them with respect and consistency.
#4. Intemperate zones.
It may happen from an absence of attention, but poor temperature control is everyone’s problem. Exposure of samples to excess heat, e.g., radiator or other any lab temperature source, can cause proteins to denature, cells to grow or die, reactions to run unpredictably, and reduce the life of your sample. Protect your samples—always exercise good temp-control.
#5. Bad sample hygiene.
What may appear to be an innocuous ice bucket is in fact a fetid pool of cross-contamination waiting to happen. Don’t let your open sample tubes be next.
These are the most common forms of Sample Abuse prevalent in labs today, worldwide. Collectively, these are the faces of a silent epidemic facing science today, and are wreaking havoc on reproducible results on a scale that is almost incomprehensible.
Do not let this be you. Remain vigilant against all aspects of sample abuse, and in the name of science, please come to the defense of any abused samples that you may come across in your institution.
