New polymer makes freezing cells safer
Cell freezing (cryopreservation)–which is essential in cell transfusions as well as basic biomedical research–can be dramatically improved using a new polymeric cryoprotectant, discovered at the University of Warwick, which reduces the amount of ‘anti-freeze’ needed to protect cells.
In the article \”A Synthetically Scalable Poly(ampholyte), which Dramatically Enhances Cellular Cryopreservation,\” published in Biomacromolecules by the Department of Chemistry and Medical School at the University of Warwick, the ability to store and freeze cells for cell therapies and research took a major step forward. The new polymer material helps to protect the cells when they are frozen, allowing for more recovery of cells and less antifreeze.
The cryopreservation process is essential for the banking and distribution, otherwise, cells would degrade. Current methods add traditional \”antifreezes\” to the cells in order to protect them against the cold stress. However, not all cells are recovered. It is therefore desirable to reduce the amount of solvent used.
Source:
https://phys.org/news/2019-07-cells-safer-polymer.html
