The objectives of this biobank are to facilitate the analysis of genetic and molecular changes involved in the progression of disease, help assess the effectiveness of new drugs and apply specific therapeutic methods to specific populations. These tasks contribute to consolidating personalized medicine.

Sample Availability

The Biological Fluid Banck primarily stores DNA samples for large-scale genomic research or other genetic analyses. Also available are a large number of serum and plasma samples that can be used in studies for establishing protein and metabolic profiles or for identifying new therapeutic targets.

The collection receives some of its samples from blood taken for laboratory tests and from doctors’ surgeries. It therefore includes diagnostic samples of a large number of diseases, such as melanoma, porphyria, immunodeficiencies, lymphoproliferative disorders and other metabolic diseases, inflammatory bowel disease, and liver, digestive and maternal-foetal disorders.

In order to obtain an unlimited supply of nucleic acid, the biobank has created a cellular immortalization service. By infecting samples with the Epstein-Barr virus, this technique provides an immortal culture from which DNA may be removed for an indefinite period. The immortalized lymphocytes can be used for extracting RNA for gene expression studies. Gene amplification is also being used to increase the amount of DNA available without requiring a cell culture. The BFB also has samples from some of their projects, including erythrocytes, whole blood, amniotic fluid, cerebrospinal fluid, etc.