biostudies-literatureUnknown13(1)Zhou LDeoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is the blueprint of life, and cost-effective methods for its long-term storage could have many potential benefits to society. Here we present the method of in situ cryosilicification of whole blood cells, which allows long-term preservation of DNA. Importantly, our straightforward approach is inexpensive, reliable, and yields cryosilicified samples that fulfill the essential criteria for safe, long-term DNA preservation, namely robustness against external stressors, such as radical oxygen species or ultraviolet radiation, and long-term stability in humid conditions at elevated temperatures. Our approach could enable the room temperature storage of genomic information in book-size format for more than one thousand years (thermally equivalent), costing only 0.5 $/Nature communications6265https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC9587218biostudies-literatureLong-term whole blood DNA preservation by cost-efficient cryosilicification.PMC9587218Zhou LYin WCao JWuttke SYu HEttlinger RGuo JGao YJeffrey Brinker CAndreo JZhu WShi JXiao BLei QfalseLong-term whole blood DNA preservation by cost-efficient cryosilicification.Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is the blueprint of life, and cost-effective methods for its long-term storage could have many potential benefits to society. Here we present the method of in situ cryosilicification of whole blood cells, which allows long-term preservation of DNA. Importantly, our straightforward approach is inexpensive, reliable, and yields cryosilicified samples that fulfill the essential criteria for safe, long-term DNA preservation, namely robustness against external stressors, such as radical oxygen species or ultraviolet radiation, and long-term stability in humid conditions at elevated temperatures. Our approach could enable the room temperature storage of genomic information in book-size format for more than one thousand years (thermally equivalent), costing only 0.5 $/2022-01-01T00:00:00Z2022 Oct2025-04-26T00:54:23.07Z2025-04-06T09:53:43.583ZS-EPMC95872183627099110.1038/s41467-022-33759-y