A language for the cold
The essential terms of cryobiology, explained clearly and connected to your lessons.
19 terms
Cryobiology
The study of how low temperatures affect living systems.
Explore the conceptCryopreservation
Preserving biological material at low temperature with the aim of recovering useful properties.
Explore the conceptCryoprotectant
An agent used to reduce injury during preservation; protection must be balanced against toxicity and osmotic effects.
Explore the conceptDevitrification
Crystallization of a glassy material, often encountered during rewarming.
Explore the conceptDMSO
Dimethyl sulfoxide, a permeating cryoprotective agent widely used for cells. Its effects depend on the cell and exposure conditions.
Explore the conceptExtracellular ice
Ice outside cells; in controlled freezing, it concentrates the remaining liquid and promotes water loss from cells.
Explore the conceptFunction
The biological activity a sample needs to perform; it requires assays appropriate to the intended use.
Explore the conceptGlass transition
A temperature range in which an amorphous material changes between a more mobile state and a rigid glass; it depends on composition and measurement conditions.
Explore the conceptIntracellular ice
Ice that forms inside a cell, often causing serious injury.
Explore the conceptNanowarming
A research approach that generates heat using distributed magnetic nanoparticles exposed to an alternating magnetic field.
Explore the conceptNucleation
Formation of a stable starting structure from which an ice crystal can grow.
Explore the conceptOsmosis
Net movement of water across a selectively permeable membrane due to a difference in water chemical potential.
Explore the conceptOsmotic stress
Stress caused by changes in the surrounding solution that drive excessive cell shrinking or swelling.
Explore the conceptPerfusion
Flow of a fluid through a tissue or organ’s vasculature; machine perfusion controls that flow outside the body.
Explore the conceptRecovery
The amount of usable material recovered relative to the amount present before preservation.
Explore the conceptRecrystallization
Change in an existing ice-crystal population, often involving growth of larger crystals at the expense of smaller ones.
Explore the conceptSupercooling
Maintaining a liquid below its equilibrium freezing point without ice formation.
Explore the conceptViability
The fraction of assessed cells classified as alive by a specified assay at a specified time.
Explore the conceptVitrification
Formation of an amorphous, glass-like solid without crystallization.
Explore the concept