Technologies for Vitrification Based Cryopreservation

Abstract

Cryopreservation is a unique and practical method to facilitate extended access to biological materials. Because of this, cryopreservation of cells, tissues, and organs is essential to modern medical science, including cancer cell therapy, tissue engineering, transplantation, reproductive technologies, and bio-banking. Among diverse cryopreservation methods, significant focus has been placed on vitrification due to low cost and reduced protocol time. However, several factors, including the intracellular ice formation that is suppressed in the conventional cryopreservation method, restrict the achievement of this method. To enhance the viability and functionality of biological samples after storage, a large number of cryoprotocols and cryodevices have been developed and studied. Recently, new technologies have been investigated by considering the physical and thermodynamic aspects of cryopreservation in heat and mass transfer. In this review, we first present an overview of the physiochemical aspects of freezing in cryopreservation. Secondly, we present and catalog classical and novel approaches that seek to capitalize on these physicochemical effects. We conclude with the perspective that interdisciplinary studies provide pieces of the cryopreservation puzzle to achieve sustainability in the biospecimen supply chain.

A three-dimensional lattice-free agent-based model of intracellular ice formation and propagation and intercellular mechanics in liver tissues

“…Finally, we show how this cell volume function is then coupled with an intercellular mechanics model. Note that we do not model extracellular ice formation because during cryopreservation of tissues extracellular ice is formed, the excluded solutes depress the freezing point in the remaining medium [ 43 ], and as such the surrounding medium around cells and tissues is generally liquid until the eutectic or glass transition temperature [ 44 ].…”

Extended Temperature Range of the Ice-Binding Protein Activity

“…When the target is much larger than a single cell, it is impractical to obtain stable vitrification solely by fast cooling and heating. Vitrification of biological samples involves a combination of rapid cooling and heating rates, in addition to adding cryoprotective agents (CPAs). , CPAs depress the melting temperature (Tm) and the homogeneous nucleation temperature (Th) while also elevating the Tg in a concentration-dependent manner. , This results in a narrower temperature difference between Tm and Tg, effectively reducing the ice growth and nucleation phases and enabling vitrification at slower cooling rates …”

Three live births after human embryo vitrification with the use of aluminum oxide as an intermediate cooling agent: a case report

“…The main decrease in the cooling rate when the devices are plunged into liquid nitrogen is due to the formation of bubbles at the boundary biological object—medium due to the nitrogen “boiling”. A layer of vapor is created, which hampers the direct contact of the liquid nitrogen with the cryopreservation device or carrier, the so-called Leidenfrost effect ( 35 ). In liquid nitrogen, it can lower significantly the heat transfer coefficient and lead to reduced cooling rates ( 36 ).…”