This invention relates to the preservation of vascularized tissues and organs by freezing or by vitrification; to organ and tissue cryopreservation or banking; and to tissue and organ perfusion with cryoprotective agents (also known as cryoprotectants).

Cancer treatment methods that include adjusting the concentration of selected metabolites in a blood supply to yield a perfusate with metabolite concentrations that promote terminal cellular differentiation in a tumor and delivering the perfusate to an artery of a patient. In some examples, the methods include adjusting the concentration of glycerol in a blood supply to yield a perfusate with reduced osmotic pressure, adjusting the concentration of ascorbic acid in the perfusate to maintain a selected redox potential, adjusting the concentration of glutamine in the perfusate to downregulate histone deacetylases, adjusting the concentration of butyrate in the perfusate to signal starvation, and delivering the perfusate to an artery of a patient, wherein the concentrations of glycerol, ascorbic acid, glutamine, and butyrate are selected to promote terminal cellular differentiation in a tumor.

The present disclosure provides a liquid-based cell preservation solution and a method for preparing the same. The preservation solution includes, by mass percentage: 15 to 20% of an alcohol, 0.4 to 0.7% of a buffer component, 0.2 to 0.5% of an ionic strength modifying agent, 0.05 to 2% of an anticoagulant, 0.05 to 0.2% of a mucus dissociating agent, 0.5 to 0.9% of a preservative, and purified water as the balance. The components of cell preservation solution are set reasonably, and the cells may be preserved at normal temperature for a long time to maintain the cell morphology. Addition of the mucus dissociating agent may effectively soften cell mucus, and separates cells adhered by mucus in the sample, thereby preventing cell accumulation. Addition of the preservative may effectively inhibit the proliferation of mold, bacteria or other pathogens and facilitate cell preservation.

The present invention provides an ex vivo lymph node is provided. The ex vivo lymph node comprises an intact lobule in a chamber connected to an afferent lymphatic vessel and an efferent lymphatic vessel. The intact lobule is perfused with a lymphatic fluid into the chamber via the afferent lymphatic vessel and out of the chamber via the efferent lymphatic vessel and perfused with a vascular fluid into the intact lobule via an endogenous artery and out of the intact lobule via an endogenous vein. Also provided is a method for preparing the ex vivo lymph node. Further provided are methods for screening for an agent capable of changing the ex vivo lymph node, producing T lymphocytes or B lymphocytes and determining immunoreactivity of the ex vivo lymph node.

The present invention relates to a medium composition for the cryopreservation of cells, which exhibits excellent cell recovery rates, cell viability rates and cell activity after thawing, and a pharmaceutical composition comprising the medium composition and therapeutic cells. Also, the medium composition of the present invention allows for readily administering the cryopreserved therapeutic cells to a subject without additional procedures such as washing, separation, etc. Therefore, the composition may be used as an excellent medium composition for cell cryopreservation or as an excellent therapeutic composition.

Described herein are methods for preserving biomaterials by vitrification while reducing or preventing the loss of viability associated with conventional preservation methods. Also described herein are cassettes and methods for using these cassettes for cryopreserving biomaterials (e.g., a bioengineered construct or natural tissue sample).

Provided is a storage container for cell-containing solutions, which makes it possible to enhance the storage stability of cfDNA contained in a cell-containing solution even when the cell-containing solution is stored under a room temperature environment. The storage container for cell-containing solutions according to the present invention is intended to be used for storing a predetermined amount of a cell-containing solution, the storage container being provided with a container main body and a preservative solution contained in the container main body, in which the storage container has a first configuration such that the preservative solution contains a cell-membrane-permeable compound that has a molecular weight of 100 or less and cannot be frozen at 0° C. and, when a mixed solution X is prepared by collecting the predetermined amount of the cell-containing solution in the storage container for cell-containing solutions and mixing the cell-containing solution with the preservative solution, the content of the cell-membrane-permeable compound in the mixed solution X is 1 vol % to 5vol % inclusive, or the storage container has a second configuration such that the preservative solution contains a cell-membrane-impermeable compound having a molecular weight of 300 or more and, when a mixed solution X is prepared by collecting the predetermined amount of the cell-containing solution in the storage container for cell-containing solutions and mixing the cell-containing solution with the preservative solution, the content of the cell-membrane-impermeable compound in the mixed solution X is 0.5 μmol/L to 5 μmol/L inclusive.

The disclosure provides for a container system and method for the cryopreservation and resuspension of a body fluid. The container system may include a cryopreservation container comprising the body fluid in a cryopreservation liquid, a resuspension container comprising a resuspension solution, a connection tube sterilely connecting the cryopreservation container and the resuspension container, and at least one shut-off element actively associated with the connection tube.

Compositions and methods are disclosed for substantially liquid, gel, suspension, slurry, semisolid and/or colloid storage of biological samples following admixture with the herein disclosed storage composition, permitting substantial recovery of biological activity following storage without refrigeration. In certain embodiments, unfractionated saliva samples may be stored without refrigeration for weeks, months or years in a form that permits recovery of intact DNA following the storage period.

A system and methodology for the preservation of red blood cells is described in which red blood cells are oxygen or oxygen and carbon dioxide depleted, treated and are stored in an anaerobic environment to optimize preparation for transfusion. More particularly, a system and method for extended storage of red blood cells from collection to transfusion that optimizes red blood cells prior to transfusion is described.