Establishing Saliva and Dental Plaque Biobank: From Inception to Progress

Objectives: Research involving human biological materials necessitates creating a repository to store and preserve samples for diverse analytical approaches. In recent decades, saliva has garnered significant interest as a diagnostic fluid for monitoring health and diseases due to its shared constituents with blood, as well as unique components such as bacteria and α-amylase. Salivary diagnostics have gained prominence owing to their simplicity, noninvasiveness, cost-effectiveness, and precision. They have emerged as a valuable tool for detecting disease-related biomarkers and microorganisms. Notably, a key research focus lies in the identification of biomarkers associated with periodontal disease in saliva. The objective of this project is to create a high-quality saliva biobank at the NSU College of Dental Medicine, representing the distinctive demographic composition of South Florida, and serving the research community.
Methods: Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval was obtained prior to sample and data collection. Demographic and clinical data from diverse donors were collected and archived. We developed a standard operating procedure (SOP) for saliva collection and long-term preservation, with sample degradation monitored by measuring total DNA levels.
Results: We validated the effectiveness of our sample collection procedures, allowing us to consistently sample 30 donors per week. However, certain challenges encountered during the collection process warrant further examination and improvement. Notably, monthly DNA quantification of samples stored in liquid nitrogen indicates minimal degradation over time, enhancing the robustness of our sample preservation methods. Owing to the SOP, different saliva samples from various ongoing research projects have been successfully integrated into our biobank.
Conclusions: In conclusion, this project established a biobank providing saliva samples for diverse research projects. Future plans include expanding the biobank to include other biological samples, such as, blood (serum/plasma), cells (desquamated epithelial cells), and tissues. We aim to share these resources with the research community while supporting our own research purposes.