THE PURPOSE OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO DEVELOP A DEVICE TO AID IN THE INVESTIGATION OF A NOVEL PROCEDURE FOR LONG-TERM CRYOPRESERVATION OF ORGANS.

THE PURPOSE OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO DEVELOP A DEVICE TO AID IN THE INVESTIGATION OF A NOVEL PROCEDURE FOR LONG-TERM CRYOPRESERVATION OF ORGANS. THE PRESERVATION PROCEDURE INVOLVES THE USE OF ULTRAHIGH HYDROSTATIC PRESSURE (I.E., ABOUT 6300 ATMOSPHERES) DURING THE FREEZING AND THAWING PROCESSES. INTEGRATION OF THIS APPROACH WITH MODIFIED EXISTING PROTOCOLS FOR CRYPPRESERVATION IS ANTICIPATED. THEAPPARATUS WILL APPLY HYDROSTATIC PRESSURES ON THE ORDER OF 6300 ATMOSPHERES IN INTERVALS AS SHORT AS 0.1 SECOND AS WELLAS INDEFINITELY LONGER PERIODS, AND MAINTAIN SUCH PRESSURES AS LONG AS DESIRED. TEMPERATURES WILL BE CONTROLLED INDEPENDENTLY AND WILL RANGE TO BELOW -150 C. THE CHAMBER WILL ACCOMODATE A SAMPLE OF ABOUT 2 CM DIAMETER AND 8 CM LENGTH. PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS WILL BE CARRIED OUT TO FULLY CHARACTERIZE THE OPERATING RANGE AND TO ESTABLISH THE NECESSITY FOR ANY MODIFICATIONS OF A FINAL COMMERCIAL MODEL.SEVERAL TISSUE SAMPLES WILL BE PROCESSED USING RELATIVELY SIMPLE PROTOCOLS. THESE SAMPLES WILL BE EXAMINED FOR EVIDENCE OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE ULTRAHIGH PRESSURE TECHNIQUE.