Coupled Heat and Mass Transfer During Tissue Freezing

本研究的目的是获得有关活细胞冷冻过程中的传热传质过程的重要新知识，并将这些知识与冷冻保存程序联系起来。实验和建模技术将以互补的方式使用，为控制实际细胞冷冻过程的微观和宏观尺度现象提供桥梁。到目前为止，大多数低温贮藏工艺的开发工作都是经验性的，许多关键问题仍然没有得到部分或完全的解决。本研究将通过研究控制活组织冷冻的热、渗透和生理参数之间复杂的耦合相互作用来纠正这种情况。此外，研究将解决一些具有重大商业意义的组织类型的低温保存，包括人类皮肤和哺乳动物胚胎。

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.