Specimen freezing rate regulator device

a regulator device and freezing rate technology, applied in the direction of manufacturing tools, domestic cooling devices, lighting and heating devices, etc., can solve the problems of reducing the survival of cells upon thawing, and affecting the efficiency of cooling devices

Inactive Publication Date: 2013-04-18
COOL LAB LLC
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0010]In some implementations of the present invention, the base container further includes an outer shell and an inner liner whereby to protect the thermal insulating material of the apparatus. Some implementations of the present invention further include a base container incorporating a single or plurality of removable, annular inserts, wherein each annular insert is made of a material having a specific heat capacity and thermal conductivity. As such, a user may customize the cooling rate achievable by the apparatus by interchanging the annular inserts for a given application. Still further, in some implementations the annular insert comprises a plurality of insulating and conductive annular rings. With this arrangement, a user may mix-and-match the annular rings to create a desired cooling profile for the apparatus.

Problems solved by technology

If the freezing of the intracellular solution is coincident with the appropriate level of water content, the size of the crystals resulting from the crystallization of the remaining intracellular water will not be sufficient to cause damage to the cell.
If, however, the degree of water removal from the cell is excessive, or if the exposure of the cells to concentrated extracellular solutes is too long in duration, damage to cellular structures will incur, resulting in reduced cell survival upon thawing.
Although the regulated freezing chambers are effective in reproducing the desired temperature reduction rate, the cost of the units can be prohibitive.
In addition, the requirement for freezing device availability is not uniform in typical laboratory environments, resulting in freezing backlogs until the chambers become available.
This method, however, provides inconsistent and sometimes inferior survival rates and most importantly post-thaw cell function or such methods can result in an unintentional and undesirable selection of sub-populations of cells.
The method, however, introduces various burdensome problems.
The alcohol change requirement adds a reoccurring cost to the product in the form of the requirement for a supply of fresh alcohol and the cost of proper toxic waste disposal of the expired alcohol.
The requirement for alcohol imposes a potential fire hazard during the alcohol exchange phase or in the event of spillage or breakage of the device.
The relatively large thermal mass of the assembly also places a burden on the mechanical freezer causing a transient rise in the interior temperature of the freezer.
If archival samples are present in the vicinity of the freezing unit, the samples may experience a thermal cycling that can contribute to premature degradation of the samples.

Method used

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Examples

Experimental program
Comparison scheme
Effect test

experiment 1

Repeatability of Specimen Freezing Cycle

[0046]With reference to FIG. 3, the results from an experiment are shown. This experiment was conducted using a prototype device 100 as shown in FIG. 1. The device 100 was loaded with 12 specimen vials containing 1 ml of cryoprotectant solution each. The device 100 was then closed by replacing the cover, and the device and cover were placed in a −80° C. freezer compartment. The cryoprotectant load of one vial was monitored using a thermocouple probe introduced through the cover of the device and through the screw-cap lid of the specimen vial. The temperature of the cryoprotectant solution was recorded using an electronic data recorder that collected sample data at 10 second intervals. Following a four hour interval, the assembly was removed from the freezer disassembled and the device and sample vials re-equilibrated to 20° C. The sample vials were re-loaded and the freezing cycle described was repeated a total of 5 times. The combined graphic...

experiment 2

Specimen Freezing Rate Regulator with Central Ballast Mass

[0047]With reference to FIG. 4, the results from an experiment are shown. This experiment was conducted using a prototype device 100 with and without a ballast 132, as shown in FIG. 1. The device 100 was loaded with 12 specimen vials containing 1 ml of cryoprotectant solution each, then closed by replacing the cover after which the assembly was placed in a −80° C. freezer compartment. The cryoprotectant load of one vial was monitored using a thermocouple probe introduced through the cover of the device and through the screw-cap lid of the specimen vial. The temperature of the cryoprotect solution was recorded using an electronic data recorder that collected sample data at 10 second intervals. Following a four hour interval, the assembly was removed from the freezer disassembled and the device and sample vials re-equilibrated to 20° C.

[0048]Four separate freezing cycles are shown in which the central cavity of the device conta...

example 1

Specimen Freezing Rate Regulator Device

[0049]The device represented in FIG. 1 may be constructed using a range of feature dimensions to provide the desired freezing rate for a specified sample vial number and vial payload. The device shown In FIG. 1 is designed to receive 12 vials of a class typically referred to as cryovials that have a nominal cylindrical diameter of 0.5 inches and a nominal length of 1.9 inches. The dimensions of the device in FIG. 1, as shown in FIG. 5, when constructed from 4-pound per cubic foot density polyethylene foam, will provide a freezing rate of −1 degree Celsius per minute as determined by the slope of the temperature versus time freezing profile in the temperature region that proceeds the phase change of the aqueous freezing media (typically in the range of 20 degrees to −3 degrees Celsius as shown in FIG. 3), when placed into a −75 degree Celsius environment. As the freezing rate is determined by the insulation thickness and distribution of the ther...

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Abstract

A system and method for concurrently and uniformly removing thermal energy from a specimen sample. A thermal insulating device is provided comprising an insulating material, the device having a plurality of chambers for receiving specimen samples, the device further includes a thermal ballast whereby the rate of thermal energy removal is controlled and influenced by the thermal ballast.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]This invention relates to devices that will regulate the rate of heat loss from sample or specimen vials contained within, following placement of the assembly into a lower temperature environment, thereby producing the desired temperature reduction profile. In particular, the device is intended to be used with live cell suspensions to provide the appropriate freezing rate for enhanced cell survival following cryogenic storage.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Common and accepted methods for long-term storage of tissues and live cells typically involve long-term storage of the sample at a temperature at which molecular activity is significantly reduced. At sufficiently reduced temperatures, the specimens can be stored most likely indefinitely without degradation. The recovery of live cells preserved by this method is dependent upon minimizing injurious ice crystal growth in the intracellular region both during the freezing process and the thawing process. A...

Claims

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Application Information

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Patent Type & Authority Applications(United States)
IPC IPC(8): B65D81/38F25D31/00
CPCB65D81/38F25D31/00A01N1/0263B01L2300/0829B01L2300/0841Y10T29/49826B01L9/06B01L2200/0647B01L2200/0689B01L2200/147B01L7/50
Inventor SCHRYVER, BRIANGANAJA, SCOTT
Owner COOL LAB LLC
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