27.09.2021

Microbial contamination in cryobanking – how to minimize the risk

Felizitas Bajerski and her colleagues reviewed the potential risks for microbial contaminations in liquid nitrogen tanks used to store biological material such as microorganisms or human, animal or plant cells. Potential contaminants and their sources are identified and the researchers provide options to reduce the risk of microbial contamination of stored bioresources.
In order to monitor the awareness of contamination in cryobanking a survey was conducted. In total 34 biobanks from five continents answered questions related to their cryobanking procedures.
Furthermore, the authors developed a novel risk assessment spreadsheet that can be used to optimize a biobank’s quality management.

 

For further information see
Bajerski F, Nagel M, Overmann J. (2021) Microbial occurrence in liquid nitrogen storage tanks: a challenge for cryobanking? Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2021 Sep 24:1-16. doi: 10.1007/s00253-021-11531-4.