Fresh Frozen Tissue Processing Service
In spatial omics, the quality of your data is defined by the quality of your tissue. We understand that the moment a sample is collected, the clock starts ticking. Our Fresh Frozen (FF) Processing & Embedding service is designed to halt biological activity instantly, preserving the molecular reality of your samples with sub-cellular precision.
Fresh frozen tissue is obtained by rapidly freezing the tissue at low temperatures without chemical fixation, immediately terminating biological reactions and maximally preserving the tissue's in situ molecular composition and spatial structure. This sample format is an essential prerequisite for spatial metabolomics and spatial lipidomics, and is also the preferred sample type for high-resolution spatial transcriptomics and mass spectrometry imaging-based spatial proteomics. Whether you are targeting labile RNA transcripts, delicate lipids, or small metabolites, our standardized cryo-preservation workflows ensure your tissue is perfectly prepped for downstream spatial analysis.
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- Why choose
- Workflow
- Applications
- Advantages
- Sample preparation
Why "Standard" Freezing Isn't Enough
For spatial omics, standard clinical freezing methods often result in ice crystal damage, RNA degradation, or the delocalization of small molecules. We utilize rigorous, assay-specific protocols to ensure:
- Morphological Integrity: We use liquid nitrogen-cooled isopentane to achieve rapid, uniform freezing. This prevents the formation of large ice crystals that disrupt cell membranes and obscure spatial morphology.
- Molecular Preservation: Our rapid "snap-freeze" techniques instantly quench metabolic activity and halt RNA degradation, ensuring high RNA Integrity Numbers (RIN) and true-to-life metabolic profiles.
- Assay-Compatible Embedding: We select the optimal embedding medium (e.g., OCT, CMC, or Gelatin) based on your specific downstream application, ensuring the medium does not interfere with ionization (for MALDI-MSI) or probe binding (for spatial transcriptomics).
Our Workflow
We offer end-to-end support, from the moment of excision to the final cryosection.
- Consultation & Protocol Selection: We verify your downstream goals (e.g., Visium, Xenium, MALDI, GeoMx) to select the correct freezing method and embedding media.
- Controlled Snap-Freezing: Tissue is frozen under controlled temperature gradients to minimize thermal stress while maximizing freezing speed.
- Precision Cryosectioning: Our histotechnologists are experts in handling difficult tissue types (fatty, necrotic, or fibrous), delivering sections with consistent thickness (typically 10–20 μm) free from folds or tears.
- Quality Control (QC): Every batch undergoes morphological verification via H&E staining and, where applicable, RNA quality assessment.
Optimized for Multi-Omics
Different omics layers require different care. Our processing is tailored to your target:
| Service Area | Key Processing Benefit |
|---|---|
| Spatial Transcriptomics | RNase-Free Handling: Strict contamination controls and ultra-low temperature storage to preserve transcript diversity and abundance. |
| Spatial Metabolomics / Lipidomics | Delocalization Prevention: Minimized thawing events and specific embedding protocols to prevent small molecules from diffusing, maintaining their true spatial coordinates. |
| Spatial Proteomics | Epitope Conservation: Avoidance of harsh fixatives during the freezing process to maintain native protein conformation for antibody binding. |
Our advantages
- Optimized Molecular Integrity
Standard clinical freezing often allows micro-thawing events that degrade RNA and delocalize small molecules. We utilize controlled, rapid-cooling protocols (isopentane-liquid nitrogen slurries) to achieve a true "snap-freeze." This halts enzymatic activity instantly, preserving high RNA Integrity Numbers (RIN) for transcriptomics and locking metabolic gradients in place for mass spectrometry.
- Mastery of "Impossible" Tissues
Our histology team specializes in the tissues that other labs reject. From lipid-rich adipose tissue and fragile embryonic structures to calcified bone and necrotic tumor cores, we have developed proprietary sectioning techniques to deliver flat, fold-free sections without compromising the sample.
- Assay-Specific Embedding
We don't use a "one-size-fits-all" media. We select the embedding matrix (OCT, CMC, Gelatin, or HPMC-PVP) based strictly on your downstream platform. For spatial lipidomics (MALDI-MSI), we use contamination-free, ion-neutral matrices to ensure the media never interferes with your spectral data.
- Stringent Cold-Chain QC
From the moment your shipment arrives at our dock to the microtome blade, your samples are maintained under strict temperature controls. We offer optional RNA quality checks on test sections before processing your valuable cohorts, giving you confidence before you proceed to sequencing.
Sample Submission Recommendations
- Prioritize submitting fresh tissue samples, avoiding repeated freezing and thawing.
- Minimize the time between sample collection and freezing (recommended ≤30 minutes).
- If you plan to conduct spatial multi-omics analysis, please discuss your sample planning with us at the beginning of the project.
