Potential release of aluminum and other metals by food-grade aluminum foil used for skin allograft cryo preservation.
Since 1991, the skin bank of the Queen Astrid Military Hospital uses food-grade aluminum foil as a primary support for storing cryo preserved human donor skin (511 donors). The possible release of heavy metals into the cryo preservation media (30% (v/v) glycerol in physiological water) and the possible impact this release could have on the quality of the cryo preserved donor skin was evaluated. Aluminum was the principal detection target. Possible contaminants of the aluminum foil as such (arsenic, cadmium, chromium and lead) were also investigated. The evaluation was set up after a Belgian Competent Authority inspection remark. Aluminum was detected at a concentration of 1.4 mg/l, arsenic and lead were not detected, while cadmium and chromium were detected in trace element quantities. An histological analysis revealed no differences between cryo preserved and fresh donor skin. No adverse reactions in patients, related to the presence of aluminum or heavy metal traces, were reported since the introduction of the cryo preserved donor skin in our burn wound centre.
LabMCT, Skin- and Keratinocyte Bank, Burn Wound Centre, Queen Astrid Military Hospital, Brussels, Belgium. gilbert.verbeken@mil.be
Gilbert
G
Verbeken
Dirck
D
Schoeters
Gunther
G
Verween
Daniel
D
De Vos
Bruno
B
Pascual
Peter
P
De Corte
Kris
K
Geukens
Arlette
A
De Coninck
Diane
D
Roseeuw
Thomas
T
Rose
Serge
S
Jennes
Jean-Paul
JP
Pirnay
D000535:Aluminum / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D015925:Cryopreservation / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012867:Skin / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D016038:Skin Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects; D014015:Tissue Banks; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous
D019216:Metals, Heavy; D000535:Aluminum