One sample family. Every use accounted for.
A sample is finite evidence. Knowing its freezer position is not enough: the team also needs its source, handling history, remaining quantity and commitments. Seal connects those physical records to the experiment, method, result and quality assessment that depend on them.
The example above follows S-084, a fictional process-development sample. Three aliquots were prepared from 4.00 mL. A test consumed 0.40 mL from A1 before its result was invalidated. A2 remains reserved for stability work. A3 has moved to another freezer, but its condition assessment is still open. The proposed repeat needs 0.80 mL; no aliquot is automatically available.
Three aliquots. No automatic repeat.
REQ-086 needs 0.80 mL. Select a tube to see what prevents its allocation.
Enough for the first test. Not the repeat.
RUN-084 consumed 0.40 mL. Its result was invalidated, but the material remains consumed. The 0.80 mL repeat request is short by 0.20 mL.
Record a new allocation before repeating. The parent residual has not been assessed for this use.
- In aliquots
- 2.60 mL
- Parent residual
- 0.70 mL
- Consumed
- 0.40 mL
- Process loss
- 0.30 mL
Remaining volume is not an allocation. The parent residual is not assessed for this repeat. Fictional example.
This is where the shared record matters. The laboratory sees the actual consumption, the sample custodian sees the physical tube, and the planner sees the existing reservation. They can make an allocation decision without rebuilding the history from a freezer spreadsheet, instrument file and email thread.
Establish identity before the first handoff
Start with the expected sample: study or batch, process step, matrix, timepoint, source, required amount, container, tests, backup and retention. For work involving subjects or donors, include the applicable protocol and consent scope. Keep missed, cancelled, replaced and deviated collections distinct from completed ones.
At collection and accession, record the actual source, collector, time and timezone, quantity, condition, container and observations. A receipt discrepancy belongs with that event. Reconcile preprinted, damaged and replaced labels so a spare label cannot become a second physical sample.
The identifier resolves the current container record. Preserve the label template, print and verification history; scanning should check the container and its intended action, not merely confirm that a barcode can be read.
Follow the tube through the physical world
Model the storage hierarchy people actually use: site, room, freezer or tank, rack, shelf, box and position. Keep capacity, coordinate scheme, temperature requirements, equipment status and access with the location. Configure exclusive-position checks so conflicting moves remain visible.
Every custody event retains who moved the sample, when, from where to where, its quantity and condition, and the supporting verification. Retrieval, thawing, temporary placement and return belong in that history. A reservation does not create a move; a move does not erase an earlier exposure.
A position tells you where. The record tells you what happened.
FZ-02 / rack R2 / box B04
Two tubes stored here. A3 has moved; the other positions are empty in this example. Select a labelled tube to follow its record.
A1 / Unreserved
Current position
FZ-02 / R2 / B04 / A1
0.40 mL was consumed by RUN-084. The remaining 0.60 mL is recorded at this position.
Verify the scanned container and destination against the move—not just the box label.
For an excursion, reconstruct occupancy during the event rather than looking only at today's freezer map. Review the event interval, sensor coverage, door and transfer records, time out of storage and applicable stability evidence. Identify candidate samples and their downstream work; timing overlap alone is not a suitability verdict.
Keep container material, capacity, closure, additives, lot, openings, freeze-thaw history and remaining quantity connected to each tube. When a position, label or quantity is wrong, retain the discrepancy, search, evidence and authorised correction.
Preserve the lineage—and the material consumed
Aliquoting is a transformation, not a copy. Record the parent, procedure, operator, equipment, consumables, conditions, requested and actual child quantities, labels, residual and process loss. The original amount must reconcile with the children, consumption and remaining material.
Pooling needs every contributor and its actual amount, including exclusions and the resulting container. Extraction, dilution, concentration and other preparations keep their own procedure, reagents, parameters and yields. Follow a contributor into every affected pool and result without confusing a derivative with its parent.
Fictional records in the actual Seal interface. Published identifies a saved version, not a suitability approval. View full size
RUN-084 records 0.40 mL consumed and 0.60 mL remaining in A1. Invalidating the result does not restore that material. A repeat creates a new allocation, preparation and use record, preserving the original test and the reason for repeating.
Allocate, pick and ship for an explicit purpose
A request defines the intended test or study, eligibility criteria, amount, priority and needed date. Evaluate matrix, condition, expiry, freeze-thaw history, quality restrictions and the applicable protocol or consent alongside the quantity. Show competing reservations, proposed substitutions and partial fulfilment before committing scarce material.
Pick against the recorded container and position. Retain scan verification, time out of storage, quantity, condition, temporary location and handoff. If the selected tube is missing or unsuitable, keep that exception visible rather than substituting without review.
A shipment links the authorised recipient and purpose to its actual containers, packaging, refrigerant, logger, carrier, tracking and custody. Receipt records the quantity and condition received, temperature evidence, discrepancies and acceptance decision. Returned residuals get their own custody and quantity events.
Fictional records in the actual Seal interface. Published identifies a saved version, not a suitability approval. View full size
In this example, A3 is physically in FZ-03. Its EXC-084 assessment remains open. Finding it in the correct destination does not make it eligible for shipment or analysis.
Ask neil to investigate, allocate and build
Give neil the protocol, the permitted records and the operational question. It can investigate the evidence, prepare linked work and author the configuration behind the next collection or allocation—not just write advice for someone to copy elsewhere.
“Find a suitable allocation for the repeat without taking material committed to another study.”
REQ-086 / allocation assessment
No eligible allocation established
Repeat request · 0.80 mL required
Work neil could stage
- Prepare a linked assessment
Retain each candidate and the reason it cannot yet satisfy the request.
- Compare the next options
Assess recollection or an authorised reallocation, including the impact on REQ-085.
No material is allocated. Combining residuals, clearing a hold or changing a reservation requires an explicit assessment and decision.
What this task can include
Allocation assessment
Compare residuals, related aliquots, condition history, method needs and active reservations. Show why each candidate is included or excluded.
Linked work
Prepare the sample request, proposed allocation and any reallocation review. Keep insufficient volume and missing evidence explicit.
Decision to review
Show the effect on the stability request before anyone changes its commitment. No hold or reservation is silently cleared.
neil works within the operator’s permissions and stages work for review. Authorised people make sample-suitability, reallocation and disposition decisions.
For a scarce sample family, ask for candidate allocations with the evidence for and against each. For a storage event, ask for the historical population and its downstream aliquots, pools, shipments and results. For a new protocol, ask for collection schedules, templates, capture fields, quantity checks and verification cases.
The output is inspectable work staged in Seal. Missing timestamps, uncertain eligibility and conflicting commitments stay explicit. Authorised people review suitability and reallocation, verify configuration, publish changes and decide disposition.
Retain the evidence through the final disposition
Retention depends on the sample class and its governing study, batch, protocol, consent, agreement or commitment. Keep the triggering event and rule version, and check for active legal, regulatory, quality or scientific holds before proposing disposal.
Disposition records the scope, authorisation, method, witness where required, certificate and inventory transaction. A completed test is not automatically permission to destroy its backup. A passed retention date does not override an active hold.
Prove the workflow with a real sample family before expanding it: include a missed collection, damaged label, conflicting reservation, quantity discrepancy, shipment excursion and an invalid test that consumes material. Verify that every physical move, scientific transformation and controlled decision can still be explained.