The CryoPod is a lightweight, portable vapor phase storage environment for liquid nitrogen. It reliably stores samples below -150°C for more than four hours. It also provides temperature display and record, date and time, and can sound and visual alarm if the temperature exceeds the range set by the user.
Cryopreservation allows researchers to preserve biological samples for long periods of time without compromising sample integrity. However, it is essential to use standardized practices to collect, process, and store biological samples to ensure excellent sample quality. Without high-quality samples, it is difficult to generate trustworthy data. Both the storage temperature and the sample handling process affect the quality of the frozen sample.
Cryopreserved samples must be stored at temperatures below -130°C to prevent enzymatic reactions. For every 7.8 degrees increase in temperature, the risk of damaging chemical reactions in cryopreserved samples doubles. Temperatures above -130 may degrade the quality of the sample. When a sample is added to or removed from a liquid nitrogen tank, or when a sample is transported, changes in temperature expose the sample to rapid heating and cooling cycles (freeze-thaw phenomena), which can adversely affect cell viability and function.
Researchers can avoid temperature changes by standardizing sample handling methods and processes and equipment for validating biological samples. Recently, Frank Simione, founding member of the International Center for Biological and Environmental Research and president of the International Society for Biological and Environmental Studies, and Tim Sharpe, global director, wrote a paper discussing the practice of storing and transporting cryostored cells. Simione and Sharpe have decades of experience managing biological samples.
In their paper, they noted that the liquid nitrogen vapor phase environment is the preferred method for storing cryopreserved samples, and they suggested measuring and verifying the temperature at the top of the liquid nitrogen tank, with the temperature of the refrigerator at or below -150°C. The authors also cite an article showing that gas-phase storage is safer than liquid nitrogen storage because it reduces the risk of explosion of the sample container, ensures that laboratory staff are not exposed to extreme cold, and keeps personnel safe.
For scientific research institutions or units with multiple CryoPod application needs, the Liquid Nitrogen Filling Station can be operated with a single button within 10 minutes, without personnel touching liquid nitrogen, and the liquid nitrogen filling of CryoPod can be completed automatically. The liquid nitrogen filling station is connected to the liquid nitrogen replenishment tank.
CryoPods and liquid nitrogen dosing stations can be used as part of a complete cold chain solution to maintain cell viability and function to meet regulated clinical applications and clinical studies.