Biobanking of Human Aqueous and Vitreous Liquid Biopsies for Molecular Analyses.

Authors: 
J. Wolf; T. Chemudupati; A. Kumar; D.K. Rasmussen; K.M. Wai; R.T. Chang; A.A. Montague; P.H. Tang; A.G. Bassuk; A. Dufour; P. Mruthrunjaya; V.B. Mahajan

A critical challenge in translational research is establishing a viable and efficient interface between patient care in the operating room (OR) and the research laboratory. Here, we developed a protocol for acquiring high-quality liquid biopsies for molecular analyses from the aqueous humor and the vitreous from patients undergoing eye surgery. In this workflow, a Mobile Operating Room Lab Interface (MORLI) cart equipped with a computer, a barcode scanner, and lab instruments, including onboard cold storage, is used to obtain and archive human biological samples. A web-based data privacy-compliant database enables annotating each sample over its lifetime, and a cartesian coordinate system allows tracking each barcoded specimen in storage, enabling quick and accurate retrieval of samples for downstream analyses. Molecular characterization of human tissue samples not only serves as a diagnostic tool (e.g., to distinguish between infectious endophthalmitis and other non-infectious intraocular inflammation) but also represents an important component of translational research, allowing the identification of new drug targets, development of new diagnostic tools, and personalized therapeutics.

Citation: 
Wolf J, Chemudupati T, Kumar A, et al. "Biobanking of Human Aqueous and Vitreous Liquid Biopsies for Molecular Analyses." J Vis Exp. 2023;(199).
PubMed ID: 
37747194
Year of Publication: 
2023
Jove