Sample Submission

• Prior to sample drop-off please visit our sample drop-off protocol page.
• For most sample submissions it is beneficial to discuss the experiment, goals and expectations and we therefor encourage users to arrange, ahead of time, an appointment.
• For a user opting to ship/mail samples, please use our mailing address and share tracking number if available.

All samples are logged and labelled with a tracking number which starts with MS (for mass spec experiments) followed by a number where the two first digits indicate the Fiscal Year. Internal users can track the progress/status for submitted requests here. When contacting the PRC re. past analyses, please  refer to the MS number.

Currently (February 2023), the median turn-around time for mass spec based analysis is 11 days with an average of 24 days but processing time is project dependent.

All samples received at the PRC will be labelled with a unique identifier.

Sample submission and using the Submission Form

For internal users:  In the Sample Submission Form, we ask you to share the PTAEO number you wish to use.  PTAEO is an acronym for Projects (7 digits)  Task (2 digits) Account (10 alphanumeric charterers) Expenditure item type (5 digits – the code for the PRC is 64110) and Organization (6 digits) . The PTAEO number allows the Center to charge the account that works best for you and your lab. PTAEO number examples:
1234567-01-CEN7654321-64110-159571 (private grant)
1234567-01-CCL1234567-64110-159571 (US government grant)
1234567-01-F964721038-64110-159571 (lab account)
Important: Without a valid PTAEO the Center will use the default lab account.

For external users we create an account and will need name, email and phone numbers of user, PI and administrator as well as your lab address which included affiliations, department etc If we have not worked with your institution in the past, we will also need the billing address for your institutions Accounts Payable department or similar. We will generate a cost estimate after discussing your project and the estimate should be used to generate a Purchase Order (PO). We can not accept checks or credit cards.

How to order/arrange your samples

Nano-LC systems (very often used in proteomics) are difficult to fully clean/clear after each injection because of the low flow and 2-digit micrometer columns. Therefore, when sample amounts are high or if some peptides are particular hydrophobic, carry-over is a possibility. Carry-over refers to the detection of a molecule from the previous injection. For nano-LC carry-over can be as high as 5%. For higher flow LC (>100 uL/min) this is much less of a problem. To minimize potential carry-over for proteomics samples we ask that you consider the order of injection. For example:

• Analyze control before treatment IF you expect specific proteins or PTMs to only be present after treatment.
• When comparing isoforms separated by SDS-PAGE, analyze the lower bands before the higher bands.
• When amounts are very different between samples, analyze in order of increasing amounts.

At times the order can be difficult to decide and the PRC team will be able to help you.