The Cardiff University Biobank (CUB) is housed in a brand new, purpose-built facility at the University Hospital of Wales. The facility provides a large storage space for up to 900,000 biological samples including blood, urine, tissue and saliva. Patients and healthy volunteers kindly donate these biological samples to enable researchers to gain a deeper understanding of diseases. The samples are crucial in allowing researchers to find better ways to diagnose, prevent, treat and possibly find a cure to a wide range of medical conditions. Samples can be stored in both ultra-low temperature freezers and vapour phase liquid nitrogen, with additional storage at -20°C, +4-6°C and at room temperature.
We also have dedicated lab space for sample processing and a phlebotomy suite for sample collection. The facility adheres to all relevant quality standards in biobanking and is certified to ISO 9001:2015 for our quality management system.
The Cardiff University Biobank is able to provide a range of different services for researchers, including provision of stored or fresh samples as well as processing and storage of samples. What we offer：
Stored samples – We have a number of collections of fixed and frozen samples stored within the facility. They cover a wide variety of different disease areas, with our Biobank currently expanding on these collections.
Fresh samples – We can provide a number of different sample types as fresh tissue. These can be sourced and distributed to researchers when they become available.
New prospective collections – Requests can be made to begin a new prospective collection if we do not currently collect the samples you require. This may be collecting samples for a specific project or starting up a generic collection that you believe could be useful in the future.
Processing and storage – We are able to undertake some basic processing of samples and then store them within the facility on a long-term basis. We can also spin and aliquot liquid samples and dissect tissue samples. Further processing can be provided through the Biobank in coordination with other Cardiff University facilities.