The NIHR Exeter CRF has purpose-built sample storage facilities with a fully equipped sample preparation laboratory and a dedicated team ready to process and store samples according to the required protocol.
Clinical Research Facility: Exeter
Laboratory Facilities
To ensure all participant samples are securely and safely preserved, a sample tracking software (2D barcode technology) is utilised and storage areas are equipped with constant temperature monitoring with dedicated critical alarms from ambient to -196oC.
Centrifuge: spins blood to separate its component parts
The Vascular Research Centre, part of the NIHR Exeter CRF, houses a world-leading collection of specialist equipment for the interrogation of micro- and macrovascular function in human subjects. These range from state-of-the-art ultrasonic techniques for the assessment of changes in the arterial wall of large vessels, to laser Doppler and microscopic methods of assessing microvascular changes in the very smallest blood vessels in the body.
Long-term sample storage at -80oC
The close integration of clinical and laboratory services with our research groups is key to the success of the work conducted here. The research laboratories incorporate cutting edge equipment, including an imaging suite with confocal and wide field microscopy, genomic capacity sequencers, flow cytometry, as well as excellent facilities for tissue culture.