Way to improve cryopreservation developed

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BOSTON, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they have used mathematical modeling to improve the cryopreservation of biological materials, such as blood.

Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, led by Assistant Professor Utkan Demirci, said they've demonstrated that, in the cryopreservation of biological materials, size, temperature and composition of a water droplet determine whether the droplet becomes vitrified -- nonporous -- or crystallized.

The scientists said their findings could enable the development of high throughput automated methods of droplet-based cryopreservation of biological samples, as well as improving some fertility treatments that depend on the rapid removal of water from the material to be preserved.

The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, is detailed in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.