Excellence Everywhere - National University of Ireland, Galway

falciparum, one of the parasites that causesmalaria, in this manner. Diagnostic antigens andsmall quantities of DNA can be extracted fromthese samples. Freeze-drying is sometimes usedto stabilize certain microorganisms (bacteria andfungi) and some products such as enzymes, butcannot be used for other types of materials suchas tissue culture cells, which must be shippedfrozen. Additionally, freeze-drying is both expensiveand time-consuming, and is not an alternativethat would necessarily be available to individualscientists. If materials must be kept frozen, it isessential that good “cold chain management” isused (discussed in more detail below). To movematerials as quickly and efficiently as possible,ATCC uses freight forwarders who accompanymaterials through customs.You may or may not be involved in cold chainmanagement if you are on the receiving end of ashipment. If you are sending heat-sensitive itemsto distant colleagues, it is important to considerthe issues carefully. An excellent article about thistopic is listed in this chapter’s Resourcessection (page 176). It stresses that many failuresto maintain the desired temperature come aboutbecause of insufficient planning. In brief, importantpoints to consider are (i) packaging, (ii) choice ofshipping company, (iii) communications with thatcompany, and (iv) necessary documentation.Specialized couriers that deal with pharmaceuticalproducts and reagents for the life sciences canprovide door-to-door service to most countries, andmight represent a good choice for sending important,heat-sensitive materials [see, for example, QuickInternational Courier (http://www.quickintl.com/)or World Courier (www.worldcourier.com). Someairline networks have procedures to handle suchshipments, and such couriers will use thoseairlines. That option is not inexpensive, however.It is important to communicate with the courierearly to work through important steps of theprocess. They should know, for example, whothe customs broker is, who to contact if thereis a delay, and the hours when packages can bereceived by the recipient. Packaging must bedetermined after you establish the extremes intemperature the shipment will likely encounter(considering, for example, the expected temperatureat both the sending and receiving ends)and the length of time the shipment should take.“Qualified” (or tested) packaging systems areavailable from packaging vendors with a focus onthe pharmaceutical and biotechnology communities.Finally, customs paperwork should be readybefore the item is shipped. You should establishwhat documentation is needed for both import andexport before shipping. Furthermore, you shouldknow who will pay the duty and value-added taxwhen an item is imported, and make sure thatfunds will be on hand for payment of those taxes.One important challenge that we have faced isthat once or twice shipment of reagents wasdelayed en route to us, and this delay was notcommunicated to us and shipment arrived at theweekend or over the holidays. The cold chainwas broken, thus resulting in the loss of theseexpensive reagents. It is very important to keeptrack of the reagents during their transportationto their destination so that appropriate arrangementscan be made to collect them as soon aspossible after their arrival in an effort to averttheir loss.”Susan Mutambu, ZimbabweViabilityThe requirements for keeping organisms viableduring shipping vary enormously depending onthe species. Microbial cultures are often sent asstab cultures in microtubes (which are small andhard to break) at ambient temperatures. MR4,discussed above, transfers mosquito vectors ofhuman malaria as eggs on damp filter paper. TheJackson Laboratory (http://www.jax.org/index.html), which ships mouse strains for biomedicalresearch to countries throughout the world, usesspecialized plastic containers for shipping. Wateris provided for mice in prepackaged, sterile, gelatinizedwater packets (Napa Nectar TM) instead ofin bottles or through other moisture sources.moving materials and equipment175