Liquid biobanking

Abstract

The DZIF Biobanking Infrastructure (TI BBD) provides centralized structures and services to support the standardized collection, management, quality assurance, and use of biosamples across the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF). Building on the established DZIF central biosample register (DZIF-ZBR), the current work program focused on the sustainable advancement of central data management, quality management, study counselling, practical biobanking support, and education and training. A major achievement was the continued expansion and sustainable operation of the DZIF-ZBR, enabling an increasingly comprehensive overview of prospective biosample collections across participating sites and studies. The ZBR was further integrated into the DZIF portal and migrated to an open-source-based system. Data uploads, validation, quality control, and statistical monitoring were established as continuous processes. In parallel, the conceptual and technical foundations for a central DT-Hub and a DZIF-wide metadata repository were developed, accompanied by adaptations of data protection concepts, terms of use, and privacy policies in accordance with GDPR requirements. Quality management activities focused on the further development and application of a three-step quality management system initially established for the DZIF transplant cohort. Standard operating procedures for biosample collection and processing were continuously refined, including workflows for patient self-sampling and sampling during infectious events. Advanced analytical approaches, including metabolomics and miRNA-based analyses, were incorporated into biosample quality control. Internal audits were planned, conducted, and reported, providing a transferable framework for quality assurance across additional DZIF studies. The infrastructure also provided comprehensive counselling to DZIF projects covering ethical, legal, and social implications, data protection, biosample collection and processing, storage concepts, logistics, costing, and laboratory information management systems. Harmonized templates, informed consent master documents, standard operating procedures, and Good Biobanking Practice guidance facilitated the standardized planning and implementation of biobanking activities and supported submissions to local ethics committees. For the DZIF transplant cohort, practical biobanking support ensured harmonized sample identification through centrally generated pseudonyms and labels and supported the coordination and optimization of biosample generation, processing, and storage workflows across participating sites. Overarching activities strengthened networking with national and international biobanking initiatives and increased the visibility of DZIF biobanking. Education and training formats addressing ethics, quality management, and IT and data management further contributed to capacity building among DZIF biobank personnel. Collectively, these activities established and strengthened an integrated biobanking infrastructure combining centralized data management, harmonized quality standards, expert counselling, operational support, and education. The resulting structures provide a sustainable foundation for interoperable and high-quality biosample management and facilitate the efficient and compliant use of biosamples for infection research within the DZIF community.