Ice formation of vitrification solutions for cryopreservation of tissues

Based on Boutron's semi-empirical crystalization theory, a quantitative microscopic imaging method was developed to determine the quantity of ice in thin films of vitrification solutions. A universal equation was obtained for various vitrification solutions. The new method was applied to determine the ice quantity and critical cooling rates for two new vitrification solutions. This new method has several advantages including the fact that it is cheaper than differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and that it can be used to study vitrification solutions with critical cooling rates extending beyond the maximum cooling rate of a typical DSC system.