Skip to Content

Biospecimen categories


person in white long sleeve shirt sitting on chair

Blood & derivatives

  • Whole Blood
  • Serum
  • Plasma
  • Buffy Coat (often included in derivatives)
  • Other blood fractions & derivatives
person holding clear plastic container

Other Biological Fluids

  • Urine
  • Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF)
  • Saliva
  • Synovial Fluid
  • Pleural / Peritoneal / Pericardial fluids
  • Swabs (e.g., nasal, throat, wound)
  • Other body fluids & exudates
scientist using pipette with test tubes in lab

Residual diagnostic material

Leftover clinical material reused for research

  • Residual blood samples
  • Residual tissue from pathology
  • Leftover biopsy material
  • Clinical lab remnants
a drawing of a diagram of the human body

Fresh & Unprocessed Tissue

  • Fresh Tissue
  • Biopsy samples
  • Surgical resections
a drawing of a diagram of the human body

Preserved Tissue

  • Frozen Tissue (snap-frozen, cryopreserved)
  • FFPE Tissue (Formalin-Fixed Paraffin-Embedded)
  • Tissue blocks & derived sections
Epithelial Tissues: Stratified Squamous Epithelium

FFPE & Histology Materials

  • Specialized preserved diagnostic tissue formats
  • FFPE Blocks
  • FFPE Slides
  • Histological sections (stained/unstained)
  • Archival pathology samples
a bunch of red bubbles floating in the air

Cells & Cell Derivatives

Isolated or cultured viable cellular systems

  • Viable Cells (general)
  • PBMCs (Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells)
  • BMMCs (Bone Marrow Mononuclear Cells)
  • TILs (Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes)
  • DTCs (Disseminated Tumor Cells)
  • Primary Cells
  • Cell Lines
  • Cultured / expanded cells
person holding silver and black hand tool

Molecular / Processed Biospecimens (optional extension)

  • DNA / RNA extracts
  • Proteins / lysates
  • Microbiome samples
  • Environmental or mixed biological samples
  • Extracellular vesicles (e.g., exosomes)