Decontamination of Biobank Facilities

Biobanks are facilities that collect, process, store, annotate, and distribute high-quality and well-maintained human biological specimens (biospecimens) for investigational use. They play a crucial role in biomarker research and contribute to our understanding about preventing, diagnosing, and treating diseases. Majority of the biospecimens are from patients volunteering to provide biospecimens that would normally be discarded after diagnostic or therapeutic procedures. Potential pathogens in collected biospecimens may contaminate the instruments and work space, leaving the personnel at risk of being infected. Meanwhile, cross-contamination can cause disastrous results during retrieval of information from the biospecimen. In this chapter, commonly used chemical germicides are introduced, including chlorine, alcohols, phenolics, aldehydes (formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde), quaternary ammonium compounds (Quats), iodophors, and hydrogen peroxide, with detailed steps on cleaning and decontaminating the biobank facility. We also discuss some of the major common biohazardous agents including tuberculosis, viruses (HIV, HBV, HCV), and prions.