Measurement of Cryoprotective Solvent Penetration into Intact Organ Tissues Using High-Field NMR Microimaging

• Published in: Cryobiology Vol. 35; no. 2; pp. 165 - 172
• Main Authors: Isbell, Stephanie A., Fyfe, Colin A., Ammons, Richard L.M., Pearson, Betty
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: San Diego, CA Elsevier Inc 01-09-1997; Elsevier
• Subjects: Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Biological material (laboratory animals, preparation of biological tracers, etc.); Blood Vessels - metabolism; Cryopreservation - methods; Cryoprotective Agents - pharmacokinetics; Diffusion; Dimethyl Sulfoxide - pharmacokinetics; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; In Vitro Techniques; Kidney - anatomy & histology; Kidney - blood supply; Kidney - metabolism; Kinetics; Liver - anatomy & histology; Liver - blood supply; Liver - metabolism; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Models, Biological; Nonlinear Dynamics; Organ Preservation - methods; Rats; Solvents; Tissue Distribution; Rat; Liver; Rodentia; Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging; Kidney; Isolated organ; Cryobiology; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Penetration; Cryopreservation; Cryoprotective agent; Measurement method
• ISSN: 0011-2240; 1090-2392
• DOI: 10.1006/cryo.1997.2037

Existing methods are not able to monitor accurately the penetration of cryoprotective solvents (CPS) into intact tissues. In this study, NMR imaging is shown to be a noninvasive nondestructive way to measure penetration rates and effective diffusion coefficients of Me2SO into samples of rat kidney and rat liver tissues. This new method is unique in that the measurements obtained are not averaged over the entire tissue volume but may be made at any site in the tissue. Measurements of penetration rates yield values which are similar to literature values, and the effective diffusion coefficients fall within the expected range. The images also suggest an explanation of why CPSs fail to completely protect organs from freezing damage.