Ten methods to preserve phytoplankton populations for flow cytometric analyses were tested. These methods were differentiated by the rate of freezing and thawing, and the use or non-use of cryoprotectants (DMSO and/or glycerol) and chemical fixation. After freezing, the samples were stored in liquid nitrogen. These methods were tested on 3 freshwater and marine algal species. Different intensit...

Surimi is stabilized myofibrillar proteins that have been blended with cryoprotectant for a longer frozen storage life. The functional properties of the myofibrillar proteins are protected during frozen storage when a cryoprotectant was added. Some commonly used cryoprotectants are sorbitol, sucrose, polydextrose, lactitol, litesse, maltodextrin, trehalose, sodium lactate and mixtures of the ab...

Computer-assisted sperm analyzers (CASA) have become the standard tool for evaluating sperm motility because they provide objective results for thousands of mammalian spermatozoa. Mammalian spermatozoa experience osmotic stress when the glycerol is added to the cells prior to freezing and removal from the cells after thawing. In order to minimize osmotic damage, cryoprotectants having lower mol...

Biophysical characteristics of the plasma membrane, such as osmotic sensitivity and water and cryoprotectant permeability are important determinants of the function of spermatozoa after cryopreservation. A series of experiments was conducted with rhesus macaque spermatozoa at 23 degrees C to determine their: (1) cell volume and osmotically inactive fraction of the cell volume; (2) permeability ...

The permeability of the plasma membrane to water and cryoprotectants is one of the most important factors for determining suitable conditions for vitrification of mammalian oocytes and embryos. In mouse oocytes and early stage embryos, water and cryoprotectants move slowly, principally by simple diffusion. In contrast, in morulae (and probably blastocysts), water, glycerol, and ethylene glycero...

Fish oocytes have not been cryopreserved successfully, probably because it is difficult to prevent intracellular ice from forming. Previously, we have shown in medaka that immature oocytes are more suitable for cryopreservation than mature oocytes or embryos, in terms of permeability. We have also shown in immature medaka oocytes that the exogenous expression of aquaporin 3 (AQP3), a water/cryo...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy of a new ultravitrification technique with a low concentration of cryoprotectants. DESIGN Ultravitrification research. SETTING Private assisted reproduction center. PATIENT(S) Oocytes donated voluntarily with the aim of research. INTERVENTION(S) Ultravitrification with different protocols of 100 mature oocytes and 100 immature oocytes divided in four g...

Vitrification of oocytes has been applied recently for humans, but remains elusive. The microtubules of oocytes are vulnerable to cryoprotectants and thermal changes. Using mouse oocytes, the effects of vitrification in open pulled straws (OPS) were investigated on survival, the meiotic spindle, and chromosomes and compared with conventional straws. Mature oocytes were allocated to four groups ...

Successful cryopreservation of most multicompartmental biological systems has not been achieved. One prerequisite for success is quantitative information on cryoprotectant permeation into and amongst the compartments. This report describes direct measurements of cryoprotectant permeation into a multicompartmental system using chemical shift selective magnetic resonance (MR) microscopy and MR sp...

Introduction: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of different cryoprotectants (CPs) on DNA fragmentation of in vitro produced blastocysts to determine an appropriate cryoprotectant for embryo cryopreservation. Therefore, the precise aims of the study were to assess the toxic effects of different cryoprotectants in terms of survival rate and to evaluate the effects of di...