The objective of this research is to obtain significant new knowledge about the heat and mass transfer processes involved in the freezing of living cells and to relate this knowledge to cryopreservation procedures. Experimental and modeling techniques will be used in a complementary manner to provide a bridge microscopic and macroscopic scale phenomena that govern practical cell freezing procedures. Up to now most of the development work on cryopreservation processes has been empirical in nature, and many crucial problems have remained partially or totally unsolved. The present research will remedy this situation by studying the complex, coupled interactions among the thermal, osmotic, and physiological parameters which govern the freezing of living tissue. Furthermore, research will address the cryopreservation of a number of types of tissue of large commercial significance, including human skin and mammalian embryos.
