Higher glass transition temperatures reduce thermal stress in cryopreservation
A new study demonstrates that higher glass transition temperatures in vitrification solutions reduce thermal stress and cracking during cryopreservation, using a custom cryomacroscope and deep learning to analyze cracking in aqueous solutions. The researchers found an inverse relationship between glass transition temperature and thermal expansion, leading to lower stress in solutions with higher Tg. Finite element simulations support these findings, suggesting current cryoprotectant solutions may be suboptimal for large-scale applications. The results point to new strategies for designing vitrification solutions that minimize fracture risk in organ and tissue preservation.
- ▪Solutions with higher glass transition temperatures (Tg) exhibit less thermal stress and cracking during vitrification due to reduced thermal expansion.
- ▪The study used four binary aqueous solutions—DMSO, glycerol, xylitol, and sucrose—with Tg values ranging over 50 °C.
- ▪Deep learning-based image segmentation was applied to quantify cracking in vitrified samples imaged via a custom cryomacroscope platform.
- ▪Thermomechanical simulations confirmed that higher Tg solutions develop lower thermal stresses under identical cooling and warming conditions.
- ▪Commonly used cryoprotectants like DMSO have low Tg values, potentially making them more prone to inducing thermal cracking in large biological systems.
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Download PDF Article Open access Published: 31 July 2025 Higher glass transition temperatures reduce thermal stress cracking in aqueous solutions relevant to cryopreservation Soheil Kavian1, Ronald Sellers1, Gabriel Arismendi Sanchez1, Crysthal Alvarez1, Guillermo Aguilar1 & …Matthew J. Powell-Palm1,2,3 Show authors Scientific Reports volume 15, Article number: 27903 (2025) Cite this article 7486 Accesses 3 Citations 80 Altmetric Metrics details Subjects Mechanical engineeringPhase transitions and critical phenomenaThermodynamics AbstractCryopreservation by vitrification could transform fields ranging from organ transplantation to wildlife conservation, but critical physical challenges remain in scaling this approach from microscopic to macroscopic systems, including the threat of…
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