Biofluids manipulation methods for liquid biopsy in minimally-invasive assays

Abstract

The Liquid Biopsy (LB) is an opportunity for non-invasive diagnosis and prognosis of various diseases. To date, it isn't possible to consider that tissue biopsy can represent a pathology entirety. Then, body fluids are rich in a large number and variety of biomarkers and they can provide information about several diseases.•Recently, other biological fluids, easy to be collected are rising for their significant content of biomarkers and for the possibility to collect and manipulate them without the intervention of medical staff.•The management of biological fluids requires suitable storage methods. Temperature, storage time and physical stresses due to sample handling can lead to chemical and physical changes that may induce sample degradation and incorrect analysis.•The reliability of a diagnostic or screening test depends on its sensitivity and specificity. As the liquid biopsy is a 'snapshot' of a pathophysiological condition, it is crucial that its components do not degrade due to the improper handling of the body fluid.In this review, some handling methods of Saliva, Urine, Stool, Seminal Fluid, Tears and Sweat samples will be described, as well as protocols to facilitate the analysis of metabolites, nucleic acids, proteins and Extracellular Vesicles (EVs) from those unusual body fluids.

Keywords: Biomarkers; Body fluid; Diagnosis; Sample handling; Screening.

Graphical abstract

Fig. 1

Liquid biopsy from blood and other biological fluid of easy access. Reproduced from

Fig. 2

Common kit (a) for simple and not invasive method to self-collect a saliva sample without personnel training(b). Usually, the kit includes a funnel for facilitating sample collection the tube and the tube cap.

Fig. 3

Stool sample collection and transport method.