Better Organ Preservation Through Advances in Cryopreservation

The development of cryopreservation technology has made it possible to rapidly advance in reproductive technologies, stem cell therapy, and even save species from extinction.

However, as part of the cryopreservation process, agents are added to protect cells from damage and dehydration during the freezing process. Physical Organization.

The two main agents used in cryopreservation in recent decades are dimethyl sulfoxide and glycerol, both of which are toxic.

These agents are also unsuitable for hundreds of cells, and so far preservation of organs and tissues has not been achieved. Because of this, up to 60% of donor hearts and lungs are discarded.

“We have a lot of organs, but most of them are just thrown away,” says RMIT’s Saffron Bryant, principal investigator on the new study. “We only have a few hours to transfer an organ from a donor to a recipient.”

The research team analyzed the effectiveness of eutectic solvents as cryoprotectants. They compared it to six different solvents in mammalian cells and tested thermal properties, toxicity, and permeability in four mammalian cell types, including skin and brain.

The researchers determined that a eutectic solvent made from proline and glycerol was the most effective cryoprotectant. effective for mammalian cells.

This solvent was also less toxic than when its components were used alone, highlighting the potential for optimizing cryopreservation using combined agents.

These cryoprotective agents can even be tailored to specific cell types and thousands of combinations could potentially be developed.

The team also did increase incubation time cells with this new cryopreservative, according to the results of the study, published no Journal of Chemistry of Materials B.

“Incubating these cells with cryoprotectant at 37°C for several hours before freezing and maintaining their viability is an important step in organ and tissue storage,” says Bryant.

“This means that we can expose organs to cryoprotectants long enough for them to penetrate deeper layers of the organ without causing damage,” he says.

s o 1850 people on the waiting list for organ transplants in Australia and more than 100,000 people awaiting transplants in the US, these new cryoprotectants could help keep donor organs viable for years, not hours.

“We have a long way to go in our studies because we only looked at individual cells, and for organs it is a much more complex process,” adds Bryant.

“But if we can create this approach to storing organs, we can eliminate their shortage – no queue“, he concludes.