Once lost or compromised, a sample is gone forever. Often additional samples cannot be retrieved or only with substantial costs or time delays. Thus, sample integrity is paramount. It must be established and maintained throughout the workflow. Making compromises, even in a single workflow step, can jeopardize your sample and the entire result.
Sample integrity is dependent on three main elements:
- Avoiding contamination
- Minimizing unspecific binding of rare or selected molecules
- Reproducibility of processes