Cryopreservation enables long-term preservation of cells at ultralow temperatures. Current cryoprotective agents (CPAs) have several limitations, making it imperative to develop CPAs with advanced properties. Previously, we developed a novel synthetic polyampholyte-based CPA, copolymer of 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) and methacrylic acid(MAA) (poly(MAA-DMAEMA)), which showed excellent efficiency and biocompatibility. Introduction of hydrophobicity increased its efficiency significantly. Herein, we investigated the activity of other polyampholytes. We prepared two zwitterionic polymers, poly(sulfobetaine) (SPB) and poly(carboxymethyl betaine) (CMB), and compared their efficiency with poly(MAA-DMAEMA). Poly-SPB showed only intermediate property and poly-CMB showed no cryoprotective property. These data suggested that the polymer structure strongly influences cryoprotection, providing an impetus to elucidate the molecular mechanism of cryopreservation. We investigated the mechanism by studying the interaction of polymers with cell membrane, which allowed us to identify the interactions responsible for imparting different properties. Results unambiguously demonstrated that polyampholytes cryopreserve cells by strongly interacting with cell membrane, with hydrophobicity increasing the affinity for membrane interaction, which enables it to protect the membrane from various freezing-induced damages. Additionally, cryoprotective polymers, especially their hydrophobic derivatives, inhibit the recrystallization of ice, thus averting cell death. Hence, our results provide an important insight into the complex mechanism of cryopreservation, which might facilitate the rational design of polymeric CPAs with improved efficiency.

We describe the development and application of a novel rapid sample-mixing technique for real-time NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) spectroscopy. The apparatus consists of an insert inside a conventional NMR tube coupled to a rapid injection syringe outside the NMR magnet. Efficient and homogeneous mixing of solutions in the NMR tube is achieved with a dead time of tens of milliseconds, without modification of the NMR probe or additional hardware inside the magnet. Provision is made for the inclusion of an optical fiber to allow in situ laser irradiation of samples, for example to generate photo-CIDNP (chemically induced dynamic nuclear polarization). An NMR water suppression method has been implemented to allow experiments in H(2)O as well as in deuterated solvents. The performance of the device has been tested and optimized by a variety of methods, including sensitive detection of residual pH gradients and the use of NMR imaging to monitor the extent of mixing in real time. The potential utility of this device, in conjunction with the sensitivity and selectivity of photo-CIDNP, is demonstrated by experiments on the protein hen lysozyme. These measurements involve the direct detection of spectra during real-time refolding, and the use of CIDNP pulse labeling to study a partially unfolded state of the protein under equilibrium conditions. Magnetization transfer from this disordered state to the well-characterized native state provides evidence for the remarkable persistence of nativelike elements of structure under conditions in which the protein is partially denatured and aggregation prone.

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