Polymer technology offers route round cryopreservation bottlenecks

The use of cells in monolayers – where they are developed on plastic – is an essential tool for drug discovery and other forms of research.

But limitations in current cryopreservation methods mean that cells stored this way and frozen for use must be kept in suspended form and, once thawed, need up to 14 days to grow before they can be used. 

As a result, point out the researchers, labs and industry spend more of their time growing cells than actually studying them.

So, the team – drawn from the GibsonGroup based at the University of Warwick department of chemistry and Warwick Medical School in partnership with the university’s biotech spin-out Cryologyx Ltd – developed a cell freezing technique based on a decade’s worth of polymer research at the university.

Their solution, outlined in BioMacromolecules, used their CryoShield macromolecular cryoprotectant technology to protect against cold stress, which can kill cells that are not carefully thawed. 

This technology permits cells to be taken from the freezer, thawed and then used in less than 24 hours. 

“Overall, we have demonstrated that cells can be cryopreserved as ‘assay-ready’ monolayers, in a scalable and versatile manner, which will enable the development of new screening technologies, enhance automation, and reduce the experimental burden on researchers,” stated the authors in their published report. 

Cryologyx was launched last year by Warwick University professors Matt Gibson and Tom Congdon, respectively CSO and CEO of the new company.

Pic by Ivan Samkov