During in vitro fertilization treatment (IVF), a surplus of oocytes is produced which results in a surplus of embryos which must be preserved. Due to the recent tendency in ART treatment to transfer fewer embryos in order to avoid multiple pregnancies, partly a result of new laws and guidelines aimed at controlling the number of embryos to be transferred and the number of oocytes to be fertiliz...

There is no generally accepted value for the lower temperature limit for life on Earth. We present empirical evidence that free-living microbial cells cooling in the presence of external ice will undergo freeze-induced desiccation and a glass transition (vitrification) at a temperature between -10°C and -26°C. In contrast to intracellular freezing, vitrification does not result in death and cel...

Is the timing of vitrification after trophectoderm (TE) biopsy associated with successful implantation and pregnancy after the embryo transfer of blastocysts subjected to preimplantation genetic screening (PGS)? In this retrospective cohort study, 1329 blastocysts from 223 patients were subjected to TE biopsy for performing array comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) tests. The PGS and frozen...

OBJECTIVE To study the thermal properties of a cryoprotectant solution, called VS4, and of VS4-impregnated whole sheep ovaries with pedicle. DESIGN Physical and experimental animal study. SETTING Academic research environment. ANIMAL(S) Five- to 6-month-old ewes. INTERVENTION(S) Thermal properties on cooling of a cryoprotectant solution called VS4 were measured by differential scanning ...

BACKGROUND Cryopreservation of ovarian tissue can be used to preserve the fertility of patients who are about to receive treatment(s) that could compromise their future ovarian function. Here we evaluate the effectiveness of a vitrification protocol by carrying out a systematic comparison with a conventional slow-freezing method on human ovarian tissue. METHODS Human ovarian samples (mean age...

Vitrification is a process in which a liquid begins to behave as a solid during cooling without any substantial change in molecular arrangement or thermodynamic state variables. The physical phenomenon of vitrification is relevant to both cryopreservation by freezing, in which cells survive in glass between ice crystals, and cryopreservation by vitrification in which a whole sample is vitrified...

A novel hollow fiber vitrification (HFV) method was applied to materials that have previously been difficult to cryopreserve, thereby expanding the potential application of this method. The results showed that zona-free porcine morulae and their isolated blastomeres remained viable even after vitrification. The rate of development to blastocysts after vitrification was similar for zona-free and...

The preservation of the female portion of livestock genetics has become an international priority; however, in situ conservation strategies are extremely expensive. Therefore, efforts are increasingly focusing on the development of a reliable cryopreservation method for oocytes, in order to establish ova banks. Slow freezing, a common method for cryopreservation of oocytes, causes osmotic shock...