Sample management. Custody, lineage and use for each sample.

1One 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.

A freezer inventory knows positions and a laboratory system knows tests; neither alone can say whether the repeat can go ahead. This is where Seal’s 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.

1.1Why teams choose Seal for sample management

A freezer inventory or spreadsheet knows where a sample sits, while the tests that consume it live in a LIMS or notebook and reservations live in email. Seal records the sample, its custody, aliquots, reservations and each use on the platform where the testing runs, so remaining quantity and commitments are known before a repeat is planned. neil can propose an allocation for scarce material; the custodian approves it.

2Establish identity before the first handoff.

Start with the expected sample: the study or batch and process step it belongs to, its matrix, timepoint and required amount, and the tests, backup and retention it serves. 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 what actually happened: source, collector, time with its timezone, quantity, condition and container. 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.

3Follow the tube through the physical world.

Model the storage hierarchy people actually use, from site and freezer down to rack, box and position, with capacity, temperature requirements and equipment status held on 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.

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.

Each tube keeps its container details, openings, freeze-thaw history and remaining quantity. When a position, label or quantity is wrong, the discrepancy, the search and the authorised correction are retained together.

4Preserve the lineage and the material consumed.

Aliquoting transforms the parent sample into new physical records. Record the procedure, operator and equipment, the requested and actual child quantities, the residual and any 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.

5Allocate, pick and ship for an explicit purpose.

A request defines the intended test or study, eligibility criteria, amount, priority and needed date. Suitability depends on more than quantity: condition, expiry, freeze-thaw history, quality restrictions and the applicable protocol or consent all count. 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 the actual containers, packaging, refrigerant, temperature logger and custody. Receipt records the quantity and condition received, the temperature evidence and the 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.

6Ask neil to investigate, allocate and configure.

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, staged in Seal for review.

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.

7Retain 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, any required witness and the 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, a damaged label, a conflicting reservation, a shipment excursion and an invalid test that consumes material. Verify that every physical move, scientific transformation and controlled decision can still be explained.

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