Process and device for temperature and pressure controlled cryopreservation

A system for preservation of biological materials at sub-freezing temperatures, comprising:

• an isochoric chamber;
• a pressure transducer that measures pressure within the isochoric chamber;
• a heating/cooling system in thermal communication with the isochoric chamber;
• and
• a computer coupled to the pressure transducer and the heating/cooling system that controls the rate of cooling or heating of the chamber in order to maintain a constant pressure to promote vitrification under thermodynamic equilibrium,
• wherein the computer comprises instructions to operate the heating/cooling system to:
• (i) cool the biological sample until a first temperature is reached, wherein the cooling is a change of about 1° C. to about 10° C. from a prior temperature;
• (ii) maintain the sample at the first temperature for a time period selected from about 10 seconds to about 1 hour so that thermodynamic equilibrium for pressure is achieved at the first temperature;
• and
• (iii) repeat steps (i) and (ii) at an X number of temperatures until a subfreezing temperature for the biological sample is achieved, wherein the subfreezing temperature of the biological sample is −20° C. or lower,
• wherein X is an integer of 2 or greater, and wherein the computer comprises instructions to control the heating/cooling system based only on the pressure measured via the pressure transducer.