Improving Sample and Data Documentation Through Standardization in Biotechnology

We were devoted to the success of our research-oriented staff in the field of provenance information in the previous article. Recently, they managed to follow it up with the publication of the ISO standard, in which their work outputs are applied, and with an article describing the standard in the Learning Health Systems journal.

Achieving new research breakthroughs in biotechnology or biomedicine requires an open and practical exchange of information and the possible reuse of samples and data from different scientific groups and institutions. The quality of these samples, experimental procedures and data significantly affect the possibility of obtaining new knowledge and results. Therefore, reliable documentation that describes the complete history of the data up to its source is essential to assess this quality. This includes the description of the biological or environmental samples, their collection method, preservation, generation and processing of data and possible integration with other data sources. Moreover, there is still an area for improvement in the current state of exchanging such related documentation. Information on the origin of samples and data is often insufficient, incomplete or incomprehensible. Currently, there is a lack of a unified framework and workflow that would allow simple exchange and subsequent processing of related data and sample documentation and which would apply to the field of biotechnology. As a result, this prevents the maximum potential of samples and data from being used.

Shaping the Future Together: Data Provenance Standardization in Biotechnology

Our researcher Rudolf Wittner and his colleagues are therefore dedicated to developing industry standards and open specifications. Their goal is to provide reliable, machine-readable documentation for samples and data. Standards will increase their reliability and overall possibilities of use, supporting discoveries and developing various life sciences areas. However, in current practice, there is still a gap between the needs and the reality of the requirements specified in the accepted standards, including technical, operational and legal specifications. The created international standard for managing sample and data documentation is designed to meet both the demands of academia and industrial conditions. It is intended primarily for companies engaged in the collection, processing or distribution of biological material and data in the biotechnology field (the exception is the food industry, which has its own standards).

The published standard is the first of a series of six standards in which the research results of our colleagues are applied. It is available for browsing and possible usage on the ISO Standards website.