Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A substance, such as glycerol, used to protect cells or tissues from damage during freezing.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun biology Any substance (typically a
polyhydric alcohol ) that preventscell damage onfreezing
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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"It may seem fantastic, but the fact that in aqueous solution, [the] water component can be slowly supercooled to the glassy state and warmed back without the crystallization implies that, in principle, if the suitable cryoprotectant is created, cells in plants and living matter could withstand a large supercooling and survive," Bogdan explained.
Boing Boing 2006
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With no cryoprotectants present, the cells will be subjected to a high salt concentration and frozen into channels where no cryoprotectant is likely to appear, in order to mitigate this salt.
Archive 2004-09-01 2004
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An embryologist hunts for the most mature ones, puts them in a petri dish filled with cryoprotectant and then places them in liquid nitrogen.
Why I Froze My Eggs 2009
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The explanation for this may be the higher but fluctuating temperatures, which increase the cryoprotectant-consuming freeze – thaw cycles [76].
Phenotypic responses of arctic species to changes in climate and ultraviolet-B radiation 2009
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If damage due to disease and aging can be repaired on the molecular level, then damage due to cryoprotectant toxicity and even freezing could potentially be repaired.
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Since the organs are the last to freeze, the cryoprotectant concentration is highest there, causing these regions to have the lowest melting point.
Archive 2004-09-01 2004
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A multicomponent cryoprotection scheme is common, to reduce the concentrations of any given cryoprotectant to sub-toxic levels.
Archive 2004-09-01 2004
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There are undoubtedly many biochemical event that must occur to reverse the process of cryoprotectant release and repair ischemic damage, but shortly after the ice melts, the freeze tolerant animal is able to hop (or walk or slither, as the case may be) away.
Archive 2004-09-01 2004
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Glycerol is the most common cryoprotectant, followed by sorbitol and erythritol, ribitol, threitol, and sucrose.
Archive 2004-09-01 2004
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Animals that use glycerol as a cryoprotectant do not need to add transport proteins as cell membranes are naturally permeable to glycerol.
Archive 2004-09-01 2004
hernesheir commented on the word cryoprotectant
A substance that is used to protect biological tissue from freezing damage.
October 2, 2009
hernesheir commented on the word cryoprotectant
Cryoprotectants occur naturally in nature, allowing cells of plants and animals and thus individuals to survive sub-freezing temperatures for extended periods of time.
October 2, 2009