Written by
Sebastiaan HorstSales Representative Benelux
Breda, 27 July 2023
A fascination for biodiversity is the foundation upon which the Naturalis Biodiversity Center is built.
The organisation aims to use its museum collection, knowledge and data to identify as much life on earth as possible. Naturalis conducts nature-related research in order to safeguard biodiversity. Thanks to this research, it can help to resolve important issues in the field of food production, medicines, environment and the climate.
Like many other research centres, Naturalis has also decided to use 2D coded tubes. These tubes offer many advantages for the organisation's research activities.
Implementation
Although Naturalis already had experience with 2D coded tubes, it still decided to switch to another supplier. “Because our personnel already had positive experiences with 2D coded tubes, we immediately decided to implement 2D coded tubes for our new sample management system. But it was important for us to be able to place personalised codes on the tubes. After experiencing a lot of difficulties with our initial supplier - due to a lack of flexibility with the coding - we decided to look elsewhere. Following a lengthy search, we discovered Lab Services and the LVL Technologies brand. The products were very promising and, thankfully, it was possible to place our codes on the tubes.
Advantages
Naturalis already knew about the advantages of 2D coded tubes, such as a smaller ecological footprint, lower costs and improved efficiency. However, the switch to LVL Technologies provided additional advantages. “Besides being able to place personalised codes on our 2D tubes, the service we now receive is much better than that of our previous supplier, while the quality of the tubes has also improved. The tubes are compact and neatly organised, which makes them easy to find. In addition, we like it that we can place our own logo on the racks, and that the 1D code is lasered on to the side of the rack. Because stickers can peel off at any time.”
The future
Naturalis thus has positive experiences when it comes to working with 2D coded tubes. What are Naturalis’ plans for the future as far as sample storage/management is concerned? “Because the samples can be stored compactly and are easy to find, we are thinking about using the 2D tubes for various types of samples. Besides recently storing DNA extracts, we also created storage space for tissue samples for which we want to use a different type of tube. In the future, storage may also be possible for other applications, such as plant samples.”
Feedback
Naturalis collaborates with various research institutions, and this sometimes involves exchanging samples. However, the 2D coded tubes with DNA extracts will remain in the Naturalis collection. How do Naturalis employees feel about working with 2D coded tubes? “Internally, we receive a lot of positive feedback about the tubes. Our employees are very pleased with the tubes, particularly because of the ease with which they can find and further process the samples.”