The relevance of ice crystal formation for the cryopreservation of tissues and organs.
This paper discusses the role of ice crystal formation in causing or contributing to the difficulties that have been encountered in attempts to develop effective methods for the cryopreservation of some tissues and all organs. It is shown that extracellular ice can be severely damaging but also that cells in situ in tissues can behave quite differently from similar cells in a suspension with respect to intracellular freezing. It is concluded that techniques that avoid the formation of ice altogether are most likely to yield effective methods for the cryopreservation of recalcitrant tissues and vascularised organs.
Department of Biology, University of York, YO10 5YW, UK. biol29@york.ac.uk
David E
DE
Pegg
D000818:Animals; D002468:Cell Physiological Phenomena; D002470:Cell Survival; D003080:Cold Temperature; D015925:Cryopreservation / Q000379:methods*; D003451:Cryoprotective Agents; D003460:Crystallization; D005615:Freezing; D005990:Glycerol; D006801:Humans; D007053:Ice; D007668:Kidney; D009926:Organ Preservation; D019188:Organ Preservation Solutions; D013696:Temperature; D014021:Tissue Preservation
D003451:Cryoprotective Agents; D007053:Ice; D019188:Organ Preservation Solutions; D005990:Glycerol