title: A simple rapid 4.5 M dimethyl-sulfoxide freezing technique for the cryopreservation of one-cell to blastocyst stage preimplantation mouse embryos.
abstract: This study applies a 4.5 M dimethyl-sulfoxide freezing procedure, developed for 2-cell mouse embryos, to pronuclear to hatched blastocyst stage mouse embryos. The embryos were plunged into liquid nitrogen after 3 min equilibration at room temperature, or 3-60 min equilibration at 0 degrees C. Equilibration at 0 degrees C gave survival rates as high as or higher than rates after equilibration at room temperature. Optimal blastocyst formation, or re-expansion, rates for embryos frozen after equilibration at 0 degrees C were 76% for pronuclear stage embryos and 96-100% for 2-cell to mid-blastocyst stage embryos. The optimal rates of fetus formation, per embryo frozen, ranged from 62 to 88% for pronuclear to mid-blastocyst stage embryos. These results compared favourably with non-frozen control embryos (80-100% blastocyst formation, and 67-78% fetus formation).
authors.affiliation: Centre for Early Human Development, Monash Medical Centre, Clayton, Vic., Australia.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Diotallevi
authors.forename: A O
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Trounson
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001755:Blastocyst; D015925:Cryopreservation / Q000379:methods*; D004121:Dimethyl Sulfoxide; D005328:Fetal Viability; D051379:Mice
chemical_list: D004121:Dimethyl Sulfoxide