Dextran-Based Hydrogel as a New Tool for BALB/c 3T3 Cell Cryopreservation Without Dimethyl Sulfoxide.

Cryopreservation provides an efficient way to preserve cells for a broad range of medical applications, including cell therapy. In clinical practice, cells are frozen in solutions containing dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) cryoprotectant agents (CPAs) to reduce their damage during the cooling process. In the current cell preservation methods, polysaccharides such as dextran, a nonpenetrating CPA, are used. However, the cell viability decreases when the solution concentration in polysaccharides increases. To overcome this limitation, we have developed a dextran-based hydrogel (PSH) as a new CPA. Three molecular weight PSHs (PSH Our results showed that PSHs were biocompatible and did not modify the osmolality of the Voluven cryopreservation solution. PSHs decreased the Tc when compared with the DMSO procedure. Furthermore, without adding DMSO, PSH PSH