Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 28, 2026
Purification of High Molecular Weight Genomic DNA from Powdery Mildew for Long-Read Sequencing
Published on: March 31, 2017
Second SPIDIA-DNA External Quality Assessment (EQA): Influence of pre-analytical phase of blood samples on genomic
Francesca Malentacchi1, Sara Pizzamiglio2, Hady Ibrahim-Gawel3
1Department of Biomedical, Experimental and Clinical Sciences, University of Florence, Italy.
Background:
In order to develop evidence-based quality guidelines for the pre-analytical phase of blood samples used for DNA molecular testing, two pan-European External Quality Assessments (EQAs) were implemented within the European Commission funded project SPIDIA. Here we report the results of the 2nd SPIDIA EQA that has been implemented on the basis of the 1st DNA EQA with the inclusion of some stringent conditions related to blood storage temperature and time.
Methods:
SPIDIA facility sent to all the participants the same blood sample to be processed by their own procedure following SPIDIA suggestion for time and temperature storage. Evaluated genomic DNA (gDNA) quality parameters were: purity and yield by UV spectrophotometric analysis, PCR interferences by Kineret software and integrity by a dedicated algorithm.
Results/Conclusions:
188 applications have been collected from 26 European countries. A high variability of gDNA integrity was observed whereas purity, yield and PCR interferences had a narrow distribution within laboratories. A dedicated analysis on pre-analytical variables and the evaluated gDNA quality parameters showed that blood storage and DNA extraction procedures influence gDNA integrity. The performances of the participants were improved in comparison with the 1st SPIDIA-DNA EQA, probably due to adopted more stringent pre-analytical conditions.
