Develop methods to store blood and urine without chilling

Scientists have developed a method to store blood and urine samples in areas of the world without chilling.

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis Louis found that storing samples in small metal-organic hybrid structures could be an alternative to cold storage. Their findings were published in the March issue of Chemistry of Materials.

The researchers wrote in the article: "Handling, transporting and storing specimens like blood and urine without chilling is extremely difficult." This formidable challenge leads to unavoidable dependence. from "cold chain used to transport and store specimens around the world".

Storing samples in small metal-organic hybrid structures can be an alternative to cold storage.

They note that preservatives like boric acid only work for a short time in stock. And dry blood samples are difficult to replenish in resource-limited areas.

Srikanth Singamaneni and his colleagues have previously shown that metal-organic frameworks (MOFs ) can conserve proteins in biosensors because they have porous structures. Therefore, the team sought to overcome the challenges of degraded specimens with metal-organic frameworks (MOFs).

In the new study, they blended the mother nuclei of the metal-organic MOFs into the blood and urine of healthy volunteers. They then dried the samples and stored them at temperatures between 77 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit for up to four weeks.

The researchers concluded that this technique is effective in protecting similar biomarkers as chilled.

'In general, this energy-saving and environmentally-friendly approach will not only reduce the financial and environmental burden associated with chilled establishment chains, but also expand medical research benefits. Biology for unresponsive groups of people by taking reliable specimens from areas that are currently inaccessible, " the researchers wrote.