Stool Nucleic Acid Collection & Preservation Tubes: The “Snapshot” of the Gut Microbiome
Norgen’s Stool Nucleic Acid Collection and Preservation Tubes offer a complete solution for the collection, transportation, and long-term storage of stool samples at ambient temperatures. In microbiome research, the moment of collection is critical; unprotected samples suffer from immediate bacterial overgrowth and nucleic acid degradation, introducing significant bias into NGS data.
These tubes contain Norgen’s proprietary liquid preservative, which rapidly permeates the sample to preserve the DNA and RNA profile exactly as it was at the time of collection. Crucially, the preservative functions as a lysis buffer that inactivates viruses (including Coronaviruses and Adenoviruses), bacteria, and fungi. This renders the sample non-infectious, allowing for safe shipping by regular ground mail without the expensive logistics of cold-chain transport or hazardous goods handling.
Key Benefits:
- Ambient Storage Stability: Eliminate the Cold Chain. Safely transport and store samples at room temperature. Stool DNA is preserved for over 2 years, and RNA for up to 7 days, making this ideal for remote field collection or home-based patient sampling.
- True Microbiome Fidelity: Bias-Free Profiling. Comparative studies confirm that samples stored in Norgen’s preservative maintain a microbiome profile (beta-diversity) indistinguishable from the “Gold Standard” of immediate freezing at -80°C.
- Viral Inactivation: Safe Handling. The preservative renders samples non-infectious by inactivating enveloped and non-enveloped viruses, as well as bacteria and parasites, ensuring safety for shipping personnel and lab staff.
- Universal Compatibility: High-Quality Yields. The preserved samples are compatible with diverse DNA/RNA isolation methods, including silica-column and magnetic bead extractions, yielding high-quality nucleic acids for 16S rRNA sequencing, shotgun metagenomics, and qPCR.
Supporting Data
Figure 1. Norgen’s Best-In-Class Preservation
Summary of community shifts in response to stabilising solutions over a 14-day storage period. Bray-Curtis distance towards the reference for each patient grouped by stabilising solution. Median and 5th-to-95th percentile ranges are shown for both interaliquot and interpatient variability (adapted from Plauzolles et al, 2022). Norgen is the most similar to frozen stool samples, over 11 other sample collection and storage methods.
Figure 2. Integrity of Total Stool DNA and RNA Isolated from Preserved Stool Samples
DNA and RNA were isolated from 200 µL of preserved stool from 4 different donors (lanes A to D) stored at room temperature at the indicated time points (DNA at 27 months and RNA at 7 days) using Norgen’s Stool Nucleic Acid Isolation Kit (Cat# 45600). Next, 10 µL from the 75 µL eluted nucleic acid was loaded onto a gel for visual analysis. High integrity stool DNA was isolated from preserved stool samples that were stored at room temperature for 27 months, and high integrity RNA was isolated from stool samples stored for 7 days at ambient temperature. Lane M is Norgen’s HighRanger 1 kb DNA Ladder (Cat. 11900).
Figure 3. Monitoring the DNA stability of Adenovirus (Ad5subE1) Spiked into Preserved Stool Samples using TaqMan Real-Time PCR Assay
Preserved stool samples were spiked with 6 x 10⁹ pfu/mL of Adenovirus, and 200 µL samples were removed at the indicated time points. The stool DNA was then isolated using Norgen’s Stool DNA Isolation Kit (Cat# 27600). Next, 2 µL of DNA template from each 50 µL of elution was used in a 20 µL PCR reaction to detect the Adenovirus DNA. The stool preservative was shown to stabilise Adenovirus DNA up to 21 weeks at ambient temperature, indicating that Norgen’s Stool Nucleic Acid Collection and Preservation Tubes provide a safe and convenient sample transportation system.
Specifications
- Preservative Volume: 2 mL
- Max Stool Input: Fill to line (approx. 2 g)
- DNA Stability (Room Temp): > 2 Years
- RNA Stability (Room Temp): up to 7 days
- Viral Inactivation: Yes (Viruses, Bacteria, Fungi)
- Package Size: 50 Tubes
- Shipping Condition: Ambient