System and substances for cryopreservation of viable cells
AssigneeMembrane Protective Technologies, Inc.
InventorsLisa A. Herickhoff, Patrick D. Burns, Nicole R. White, James A. Herickhoff
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An improved cryopreservation process and substances can involve a cellular collection (1) in a cryopreservation fluid (4) that has been conditioned or treated (7) to enhance the cryopreservation process by adding (18) energy (19) such as in the surface energy of a substance in the cryopreservation fluid (4) prior to reducing energy for that same cryopreservation media for freezing. This can offer enhanced-post-cryogenic viability of the cryopreserved structures or a more optimum cooling curve (22) for a specific cell type.
Claims21
A process to enhance the cryopreservation of biological cells comprising the steps of:
- assembling a cellular collection containing a plurality of biological cells;
- establishing a lipid containing cryopreservation fluid to be later incorporated with said biological cells in cryopreservation;
- after said step of establishing a lipid containing cryopreservation fluid to be later incorporated with said biological cells in cryopreservation, adding at least 270 j/kg surface energy to substantially all of said lipid in said lipid containing cryopreservation fluid without filtering said lipid containing cryopreservation fluid to create a lipid surface energy increased cryopreservation fluid by the multiplication in the number of discrete lipid droplets in the fluid without changing the total concentration (v/v or w/v) of the lipid relative to the remaining cryopreservation fluid components;
- after said step of adding said at least 270 j/kg surface energy to substantially all of said lipid in said lipid containing cryopreservation fluid to create said lipid surface energy increased cryopreservation fluid, mixing substantially all of said lipid surface energy increased cryopreservation fluid and said biological cells to form an energy increased fluidic cryopreservation composite;
- removing thermal energy from said fluidic cryopreservation composite;
- freezing said fluidic cryopreservation composite by reducing the temperature of said fluidic cryopreservation composite below the freezing point of water;
- and
- providing an enhanced post-cryogenic viability for said biological cells as a result from said above steps.
A process to enhance the cryopreservation of biological cells comprising the steps of:
- assembling a cellular collection containing a plurality of biological cells;
- establishing a cryopreservation fluid having a lipid therein to be later incorporated with said biological cells in cryopreservation;
- after said step of establishing a cryopreservation fluid having said lipid therein to be later incorporated with said biological cells in cryopreservation, in situ sizing substantially all of said lipid within said cryopreservation fluid without filtering said lipid in said cryopreservation fluid to create droplets of a desired droplet size of said lipid substance within said cryopreservation fluid;
- retaining substantially all of said droplets of said lipid within said cryopreservation fluid;
- after said step of in situ sizing substantially all of said lipid within said cryopreservation fluid to create droplets of said desired droplet size of said lipid substance within said cryopreservation fluid, mixing substantially all of said cryopreservation fluid and said biological cells to form a fluidic cryopreservation composite;
- removing thermal energy from said fluidic cryopreservation composite;
- and
- freezing said fluidic cryopreservation composite by reducing the temperature of said fluidic cryopreservation composite below the freezing point of water.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.