Norgen Urine Collection and Preservation Tubes: Ambient Molecular Stabilisation
The Norgen Urine Collection and Preservation Tubes provide a comprehensive solution for the non-invasive collection, rapid stabilisation, and long-term storage of urine specimens. Designed to overcome the logistical challenges of sample degradation and microbial overgrowth, these tubes eliminate the requirement for immediate cold-chain processing or expensive dry-ice shipping. Whether for clinical diagnostics, field research, or large-scale biobanking, they ensure the molecular profile of the donor is captured accurately at the point of collection and maintained throughout transport and storage.
The preservation mechanism is powered by a proprietary dried chemical formulation, visible as an orange pellet at the base of each tube. Upon sample addition and simple inversion, the preservative dissolves to instantly inhibit nuclease activity and prevent the growth of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, fungi, and viruses. This technology stabilises high-molecular-weight DNA, total RNA (including microRNA), and proteins for over two years at room temperature, providing high-quality templates for sensitive downstream applications such as NGS, qPCR, and proteomics.
Available Configurations
Select the format optimised for your specific collection volume and research requirements:
Key Benefits:
- Long-Term Stability: Room temperature preservation. Stabilises DNA, RNA, and proteins for over 2 years at ambient temperatures (15–25°C), eliminating the need for immediate freezing.
- Streamlined Logistics: Eliminate cold-chain costs. Enables the safe and cost-effective shipping of preserved, non-infectious samples via standard courier services or post.
- Superior Data Integrity: Protect sensitive biomarkers. Effectively prevents the degradation of circulating cell-free DNA (cf-DNA) and RNA (cf-RNA), delivering high-quality templates for NGS and liquid biopsy.
- Biohazard Safety: Pathogen inactivation. The preservation chemistry inactivates viruses and prevents microbial growth, protecting personnel and simplifying international transport compliance.
- Universal Compatibility: Simplified processing. Samples are fully compatible with most commercial purification kits, including Norgen’s dedicated urine isolation systems.
Technical Insights
▼ View Technical Performance Data
Figure 1: Stability of DNA in Norgen’s Urine Stabilizer
Urine samples were collected from numerous healthy donors and pooled, and then the urine was aliquoted into 5 mL aliquots in Norgen’s Urine Collection and Stabilization Tubes (5 cc) (Cat# 18116). The stabilized urine was stored at -20°C, 4°C and room temperature for up to 48 months. Urine DNA was subsequently isolated at time 0, 1 month, 2 months, 4 months, 8 months, 12 months, 16 months, 20 months and 24 months from the stabilized urine using Norgen’s Urine DNA Isolation Kit (Slurry Format) (Cat# 48800). To test the integrity of the purified DNA, 3 μL of each elution was used in a 20 μL Taqman PCR reaction run on a CFX96 Touch Real-Time PCR Detection System (Bio-Rad) using Norgens 2X PCR Master Mix with 5s rRNA primers. As it can be seen, all the DNA samples were successfully amplified.
Figure 2: Stability of RNA in Norgen’s Urine Stabilizer
Urine samples were collected from numerous healthy donors and pooled, and then the urine was aliquoted into 5 mL aliquots in Norgen’s Urine Collection and Stabilization Tubes (5 cc) (Cat. 18116). The stabilized urine was stored at -20°C, 4°C, and room temperature for up to 24 months. Urine RNA was then subsequently isolated at time 0, 1 month, 2 months, 4 months, 8 months, 12 months, 16 months, and 24 months from the preserved urine using Norgen’s Urine Total RNA Purification Maxi Kit (Slurry Format) (Cat. 29600).
Specifications
- Preservative Format: Dried Pellet or Liquid Buffer
- Storage Temperature: 15°C to 25°C (Ambient)
- Preservation Duration: > 2 Years for DNA, RNA, and Proteins
- Safety: Pathogen inactivation (Viral and Bacterial)
- Shelf Life: 3 years from date of manufacture (unfilled)
- Downstream Applications: PCR, qPCR, NGS, Microarrays, and Proteomics