Biological chip technology to quickly batch select optimum cryopreservation procedure

Abstract

In the practices of cryobiology, selection of an optimum freeze/thawing program and an idealistic cryoprotective agent often requires rather tedious, time consuming and repetitive tests. Integrating the functions of sample preparation and viability detection, the concept of biochip technology was introduced to the field of cryopreservation, aiming at quickly finding an optimum freezing and thawing program. Prototype devices were fabricated and corresponding experimental tests were performed. It was shown that microflow-channel chip could not offer a high quality solution distribution. As an alternative, the spot-dropping chip proved to be an excellent way to load the sample quickly and reliably. Infrared thermal mapping on such a chip showed that it had a rather uniform heat transfer boundary. Applying the spot-dropping chip combined with the thermoelectric cooling device, the final output of cryopreservation of multiple samples was tested, and the optimal freeze/thawing program as well as the potentially best concentration of the cryoprotective agent was found by analyzing the results. Further, application of this technique to measure the thermo-physical properties of the cryo-protective agent was also investigated. The study demonstrated that a biochip with integrated automatic loading and inspection units opens the possibility of a massive optimization of the complex cryopreservation program in a quicker and more economical way.