Table 2.
various sample types and their collection and storage procedure from women and their neonates
| Sample type | Collection procedure | Applications |
|---|---|---|
| Blood sample | A small blood sample will be collected into three tubes during each antepartum visit. (a). Three ml blood will be collected in tempus tube and will be used for epigenetic studies. (b). Four ml blood will be collected in EDTA tubes and from this 1 ml blood will be mixed with 10 % DMSO and stored at -80 °C for cell sorting; another 1 ml blood will be used for plasma separation and stored at -80 °C; while remaining, 2 ml will be used for stimulation with Toll-like receptors ligands and after stimulation, the plasma samples will be stored at -80 °C. (c). Three ml blood sample collected in EDTA tube will be used for Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMC) separation and isolated PBMC will be preserved in preservative medium and stored in liquid nitrogen. |
Blood transcriptomics, DNA genotyping, Immune stimulation, Cell sorting, PBMC isolation, plasma isolation |
| Vaginal swab | A vaginal swab sample will be collected from the posterior fornix using a soft Copan eswab and stored at -80 °C. | Metagenomics |
| Skin swab | A skin swab from the upper chest area will be collected during each visit using a BD eswab collection and transport kit and stored at -80 °C. | Metagenomics |
| Saliva/ buccal swab | A saliva sample will be collected in a sterile 50 ml falcon tube. The sample will be aliquoted and stored at -80 °C. | Metagenomics |
| Urine sample | A urine sample will be collected in a sterile 50 ml container. The sample will be aliquoted and stored at -80 °C. | Proteomics, Metagenomics, Metabolomics |
| Stool sample | A fresh stool sample will be collected and split into two tubes (a). DNAGenotek Omnigut tube and (b) cryotube and will be stored at -80 °C. | Metagenomics, Metabolomics |
| Amniotic fluid | An amniotic fluid sample will be collected at delivery and stored at -80 °C. | Proteomics, Metagenomics, Metabolomics |
| Cord blood | A cord blood sample will be collected at delivery and stored at -80 °C. | Epigenetics, miRNA purification |
| Placenta | A placenta sample will be collected at delivery and stored at -80 °C. | Metagenomics, Epigenetics |
| Breast milk | A small breast milk sample around 1 ml will be collected during post-partum visits as described in Table 1. | Metagenomics |