Freezing biological organisms for biomedical applications

Abstract

Biological organisms play important roles in human health, either in a commensal or pathogenic manner. Harnessing inactivated organisms or living organisms is a promising way to treat diseases. As two types of freezing, cryoablation makes it simple to inactivate organisms that must be in a non‐pathogenic state when needed, while cryopreservation is a facile way to address the problem of long‐term storage challenged by living organism‐based therapy. In this review, we present the latest studies of freezing biological organisms for biomedical applications. To begin with, the freezing strategies of cryoablation and cryopreservation, as well as their corresponding technical essentials, are illustrated. Besides, biomedical applications of freezing biological organisms are presented, including transplantation, tissue regeneration, anti‐infection therapy, and anti‐tumor therapy. The challenges and prospects of freezing living organisms for biomedical applications are well discussed. We believe that the freezing method will provide a potential direction for the standardization and commercialization of inactivated or living organism‐based therapeutic systems, and promote the clinical application of organism‐based therapy.

Magnesium Gradient‐Based Hierarchical Scaffold for Dual‐Lineage Regeneration of Osteochondral Defect

“…[ 39 ] Cryogel, a unique form of hydrogel obtained through cryogelation and freeze‐drying, offers highly‐interconnected pores generated by ice crystals. [ 40 ] As the pore sizes are dependent on freezing temperatures, we tested three freezing temperatures (i.e., −20 °C, −80 °C, and −196°C) to create the pores in GelMA cryogels. However, even at −20 °C, the created pore size was smaller than 100 µm, which does not meet the requirement on pore size (100–200 µm) for bone tissue ingrowth (Figure S18, Supporting Information).…”

Construction of a Localized and Long-Acting CCN2 Delivery System on Percutaneous Ti Implant Surfaces for Enhanced Soft-Tissue Integration

“…Human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) were isolated from healthy newborn foreskin. 29 Approval was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the School of Stomatology, Fourth Military Medical University (KQ-YJ-2023-006), and informed consent was obtained from the parents of the newborn. In brief, the tissue block method was used to isolate human dermal fibroblasts.…”

“Zombie” Macrophages for Targeted Drug Delivery to Treat Acute Pneumonia

“…However, “off-the-shelf” availability would be highly desired for the treatment of acute diseases that require immediate medication. However, therapies using living cells encounter challenges such as a short storage time and low retention of payload, which have retarded their clinical translation . Gu et al developed cryo-shocked tumor cells without proliferative activity and pathogenicity while retaining tumor antigens for targeted drug delivery and tumor vaccination .…”

“…However, therapies using living cells encounter challenges such as a short storage time and low retention of payload, which have retarded their clinical translation. 26 Gu et al developed cryo-shocked tumor cells without proliferative activity and pathogenicity while retaining tumor antigens for targeted drug delivery and tumor vaccination. 27 Gao, Yue, and Li et al designed oncolytic adenovirus-loaded frozen tumor cells as a reservoir with preservation of cell structure while losing tumorigenicity, enabling the sustained release of the virus and maximizing the therapeutic effects via a single administration.…”