Biological Resource Centre

Activities of the Biological Resource Centre

The Gustave Roussy Biobank handles the following biological matrices:

• Blood
• Urine
• Saliva
• Stool
• Hair
• Frozen tissues (biopsies, surgical specimens)
• Fixed tissues (FFPE)
• Nucleic acids (DNA, RNA)

It carries out the following activities:

• Preparation of blood-derived products (serum, plasma, smears, etc.)
• Purification of mononuclear cells – PBMC (Ficoll®, CPT® Tubes)
• Truculture®
• Tissue preservation in various media (Snap frozen, RNAlater®-OCT®, CryoStor®)
• Tissue sectioning using a cryostat (chips, blank slides)
• HE staining
• Sample preservation (nitrogen, -150°C, -80°C, -20°C, or ambient) under controlled and traceable conditions
• Provision of quality samples at the national and international level
• Sample quality controls: cell viability and count, tumor cell percentage, etc.
• Project management for clinical trials (assistance with drafting the laboratory manual, technical feasibility, etc.)
• Collection management

In 2024, the Gustave Roussy Biobank is:

• Number of new samples
  47,000 fluid samples received
  > 80,000 fluids generated
  > 5,000 frozen tissues received
  ≈ 1,000 FFPE blocks integrated
• Number of samples stored
  > 650,000 frozen samples
  ≈ 10,000 FFPE blocks
• Number of clinical trials
  > 500 active studies (70% industrially sponsored)
• Collections
  CANTO (UNICANCER) > 112,000 aliquots (plasma/serum)
  CeviCART, CeviHEMATO (CRYOSTEM)

Resources

The biobank has a range of equipment to ensure its operations, including:

• -20°C freezers
• -80°C freezers
• -150°C freezers
• Gas-phase nitrogen cryotanks (-150°C)
• MSS
• Cryostat
• AutoMACS Neo

The traceability of biological resources and associated data is ensured via MBioLIMS® software (Modul-Bio).