Services

TISSUE REQUEST

To request tissue, complete a Tissue Procurement Request Form and email it to Yimin Sun. The request will be reviewed for clarity prior to forwarding it to the Tissue Utilization Committee. The Tissue Utilization Committee will review the application and recommend approval or disapproval.

Private companies that are interested in requesting tissues are urged to establish a collaboration with Cancer Center members and should be agreeable to contracting with the University of Nebraska Medical Center regarding the collaboration and any shared intellectual property.

TISSUE PROCESSING

Snap Frozen Tissue
Frozen tissues (normal and tumor tissue; the latter representing benign and malignant entities) are currently available in the TPSR from a wide variety of organ systems. If an investigator requires prospective procurement of frozen tissues, the TPSR has resources to deliver snap frozen tissue using liquid nitrogen or dry ice or these tissues can be briefly stored in a -120°C freezer until needed. Frozen sections can be prepared for diagnostic confirmation for investigators upon request (coordinated with the Tissue Science Facility).

Fresh Tissue
Requests for fresh tissue (such as that required for RNA or enzyme analysis, establishment of cell lines, or xenografts) can be coordinated with the TPSR personnel who will in turn work with the staff pathologist to identify and process the tissue in the manner requested. When special culture media is required, the investigator’s laboratory is responsible for preparing and delivering it to the Shared Resource prior to the anticipated time of procurement. Fresh tissue is also available to investigators for the generation of viable, single cell suspensions. The TPSR stocks a variety of enzymes for tissue dissociation (e.g., collagenase, trypsin) and makes available several standard protocols for use by investigators. Following procurement, the investigators are promptly notified that the material is available for pick up; they may participate in its preparation if special methodology is required.

DNA/RNA preparation
Prepared upon request.

OTHER SERVICES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST