Dry Ice Cryogenic Chamber for Sample Integrity During Manipulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional ultra-low temperature storage systems face challenges in maintaining stable temperatures during sample manipulation and transport, as they often require samples to be exposed to warmer conditions for extended periods, leading to potential degradation and loss of integrity.
Innovation Solution
A cryogenic processing system featuring a container with a gas-permeable dry ice retainer that maintains a low temperature zone by allowing CO2 gas from sublimating dry ice to circulate, keeping samples at temperatures below -50°C for extended periods while allowing continuous access and manipulation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If samples are stored in conventional ultra-low temperature storage systems, then sample integrity is maintained, but samples must be exposed to warmer conditions for extended periods during manipulation and transport
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the temperature parameter from conventional ultra-low storage (typically -80°C) to cryogenic temperatures (below -130°C, specifically mentioning liquid nitrogen temperature of -196°C). This parameter change extends the stable storage temperature range, allowing samples to remain at ultra-low temperatures during manipulation and transport without degradation, thereby reducing exposure time to harmful warmer conditions while maintaining sample integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary cooling of samples to cryogenic temperatures before manipulation and transport. By pre-cooling samples to below -130°C, the system ensures that samples remain in a stable, non-degrading state throughout the manipulation process, eliminating the need for rapid transfer between temperature zones and reducing overall exposure time to warmer conditions.
2Ease of operation
If samples are stored at temperatures above -130°C, then storage is more accessible and easier to manipulate, but molecular activity continues and sample degradation occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The invention implements a two-stage temperature parameter system: cryogenic storage at below -130°C (specifically -196°C liquid nitrogen temperature) for long-term stability, and a controlled transition zone for manipulation. This parameter change ensures that during manipulation, samples remain in the below -130°C range, preventing molecular activity and degradation, while still allowing operational access through the designed chamber and port systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces an intermediary cryogenic chamber system that mediates between the cold storage environment and the warmer external environment. This intermediary chamber maintains cryogenic temperatures during sample manipulation, acting as a buffer that allows ease of operation while preventing sample degradation by maintaining the critical below -130°C temperature threshold.
3Ease of operation
If conventional freezer systems are used, then samples can be accessed during normal operations, but temperature spikes and fluctuations occur during door opening and power failures
Solution Approach 1:
The invention segments the storage system into distinct thermal zones: a primary cryogenic storage chamber maintained at below -130°C, and a secondary manipulation chamber that can be accessed independently. This segmentation allows door opening and manipulation activities in the secondary chamber without causing temperature spikes in the primary storage chamber, thereby maintaining temperature stability while enabling normal operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements beforehand cushioning by pre-cooling the manipulation chamber to cryogenic temperatures before sample transfer operations. This pre-cooling creates a thermal buffer that cushions against temperature spikes during door opening and manipulation, ensuring that the primary storage chamber maintains its stable below -130°C temperature even during operational disturbances.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively maintains samples at ultra-low temperatures, preventing degradation and ensuring sample integrity during handling and transport by creating a stable low temperature zone that can be accessed without additional cooling, thus addressing the issue of temperature fluctuations.
Implementation Method 1
at least one gas permeable dry-ice retainer vertically disposed within the chamber... following an equilibration period, filling the dry ice retention space(s) with dry ice results in a chamber temperature below -50°C
Implementation Method 2
a container comprising an insulated chamber
Data Source
AI summary
Cryogenic devices are provided in which solid carbon dioxide (dry ice) is used to maintain a temperature zone in which samples can be manipulated under conditions in which the sample is maintained at a temperature below −50° C.