Storage and shipping variables may significantly impact cryopreserved product quality. In this particular article, the focus is on temperature control issues. The AATB (American Association of Tissue Banks) Standards for Tissue Banking state that cryopreserved cardiac allografts shall be maintained at temperatures of –100°C or colder. Heart valves are usually stored below –135°C in vapor phase nitrogen. There have been few published studies of higher (warmer) storage temperatures. Most heart valves are transported using dry shippers that maintain vapor phase nitrogen temperatures. These containment devices are expensive, and the costs for two-way shipping are significant due to their size and weight. Considerable savings could be had if dry ice shippers with temperature excursions warmer than the AATB standard (of up to –70°C) could be employed…
Tag: <span>storage</span>
The globalization and sustained growth of the biotechnology market has brought the issue of biological packaging to the fore, particularly for those companies invested in cell and tissue bioproducts, such as engineered tissues and cells used for cell therapy. Biological packaging can be defined as the sum total of the physical device, temperature regulating and monitoring systems, type of preservation solution, and storage protocol(s) necessary to maintain cells or tissues in a “state of suspended animation” during transport or storage. The ideal biological package provides for the transport of cells and tissues throughout the global marketplace while maintaining both the viability and the function of the biological system at levels equivalent to those measured prior to shipment. Cells and tissues are currently shipped and stored under hypothermic (4–8ºC) or cryopreserved (–80 to –196ºC) conditions. These two processes have remained relatively unchanged over the past several decades, limiting their utility in the storage of modern bioproducts. However, recent evolutions in biological packaging have begun to provide scientific and financial benefits to researchers, clinicians, and corporate entities…