Novel Strategy for Cell Cryopreservation: Pre-Dehydration via Droplet Vacuum Evaporation
Release time:
2026-06-22
In 2026, Professor Yi Xu’s team from the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, also members of the Yinfeng Cryomedicine Expert Committee, achieved a significant breakthrough in cell cryopreservation by proposing a novel strategy based on pre‑dehydration via droplet vacuum evaporation. This approach markedly improves the post‑thaw recovery quality of both individual cells and 3D cell aggregates. The related research findings were recently published in a well‑known international journal, offering an efficient and low‑toxicity solution for regenerative medicine and biobanking.
Research Background: Practical Challenges in Cryopreservation
Cryopreservation of cells and organoids is a core component of regenerative medicine, drug screening, and biobank construction. Current mainstream methods—slow freezing and vitrification—have long been plagued by two major issues:
-
Ice crystal damage: Intracellular ice formation can puncture membrane structures, causing irreversible injury.
-
Osmotic stress and toxicity: High concentrations of cryoprotective agents (CPAs) suppress ice crystal formation but readily induce chemical toxicity. In particular, within three‑dimensional (3D) cell aggregates, CPAs struggle to penetrate uniformly, resulting in damage to outer cells and insufficient protection for inner cells. Traditional CPA loading relies on diffusion, taking 10–30 minutes—not only inefficient but also exacerbating cell injury, thus becoming a bottleneck for the scaled application of organoids.
Core Technology: Rapid “Pre‑Dehydration” via Vacuum Evaporation
Professor Xu’s team innovatively proposed the droplet vacuum evaporation pre‑dehydration strategy (as illustrated). The core principle leverages evaporation at the gas‑liquid interface of microdroplets. Within a closed chamber, a negative pressure of approximately –0.09 MPa is applied at 4°C, causing the CPA at the droplet surface to concentrate instantaneously through interfacial evaporation, thereby establishing an osmotic pressure gradient. This physical process drives rapid water efflux while concurrently facilitating efficient CPA entry into cells and the interior of 3D aggregates. Consequently, the duration of cell exposure to high‑concentration CPA is greatly shortened, effectively circumventing the issues of non‑uniform mass transfer and cumulative toxicity inherent in conventional methods.
Experimental Results: High Viability and Functional Integrity
Experimental data demonstrate that this technique performs excellently for both single‑cell suspensions and 3D cell aggregates:
-
Post‑thaw viability >95%;
-
Aggregates maintain normal proliferative activity, spheroid morphology, and differentiation potential;
-
No significant ice crystal formation or structural collapse;
-
Compared with traditional methods, this strategy not only improves preservation efficiency but also significantly reduces CPA usage and cellular stress responses, providing a feasible pathway for high‑throughput and automated cryopreservation.
This approach holds broad application prospects in regenerative medicine (e.g., stem cell transplantation and organoid transplantation), drug screening (preservation of high‑throughput cell models), and biobanking (long‑term storage of rare cell resources).
Previous article
Previous article
Latest developments
Yinfeng Foundation Honored as "2025 Public Welfare Donor" by Jinan Red Cross
Looking ahead, Yinfeng Foundation will use this recognition as an opportunity to further deepen its strategic collaboration with the Jinan Red Cross, expand cooperation in areas such as life health and emergency response, and continue to empower efforts to accelerate the construction of a "new, strong, excellent, rich, beautiful, and high-quality" modern socialist strong capital city, contributing even more Yinfeng strength to this endeavor.
The team successfully developed the CryoSIM platform, an intelligent microfluidics and deep learning-integrated system. This platform deeply integrates core technologies of deep learning and microfluidics to enable high-throughput, high-precision automated analysis of oocyte membrane permeability. It provides a novel technological tool for optimizing and advancing the clinical translation of oocyte cryopreservation techniques. Additionally, it offers an innovative practical paradigm for the application of artificial intelligence in low-temperature biomedicine and reproductive medicine.
Public Welfare Partnership: A Special Letter from the Jinan Red Cross
On the afternoon of January 30, 2026, the Jinan Red Cross presented a letter of special significance to the Shandong Yinfeng Life Science Public Welfare Foundation (hereinafter referred to as the Yinfeng Foundation).
World’s First Achievement Highlights Brand Leadership
In the future, Yinfeng Life Science Research Institute will continue to uphold its mission of "Dedicated to Medical Technology, Safeguarding Human Health." It will empower brand building with more original and pioneering scientific and technological achievements, contributing wisdom and strength to Shandong's goal of building a national regional innovation hub and promoting Chinese brands on the global stage.
Global First Ovarian Tissue Dual Activation Technology Debuts at 2025 Jinan Achievements Conference
Currently, the ovarian tissue dual activation technology has been successfully applied in clinical practice at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine Shenzhen (Longgang) Hospital, having treated over 400 patients with a treatment success rate of 70%. Over the next three years, Shandong Yinfeng Life Science Research Institute plans to use Jinan as a center to gradually expand the transformation and application of this technological achievement nationwide.
According to the latest announcement from the International Society of Cryobiology, Professor Xu Yi from the School of Health Science and Engineering at the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, and a member of the Yinfeng Cryomedicine Expert Committee, has been elected as a Board Governor of the Society for a three-year term (2026–2028). The election was conducted through a democratic vote by all members worldwide, with three new Board Governors elected. Professor Xu Yi is the only scholar from Asia elected to the Society’s Board of Governors this time and the third elected scholar from mainland China in the Society’s 60-year history.
Yinfeng Life Continuation Plan
Address: Yinfeng Biotechnology Park, 1758 Gangyuan 6th Road, High-tech Zone, Jinan City, Shandong Province
Zip Code: 250102
Telephone: 0086-0531-88897351
Mobile: 0086-19953155515
Mobile website
Official WeChat Public Number
Links:Red Cross Society of China丨Shandong Red Cross Society丨Shandong Provincial Health Commission | Yinfeng Group| Yinfeng Biological Group
All rights reserved©Yinfeng Life Continuation Powered by www.300.cn SEO
