Design of a New Portable Cryostorage Device

Abstract

The currently available cryostorage systems are cumbersome to operate and offer little in the way of sample storage flexibility and user-friendliness. The aim is to redesign and fabricate a user-friendly portable storage system with monitoring capabilities for storage of cryopreserved biological samples for use in a small research laboratory setting. The proposed system consists of two concentric cylinders, between which a vacuum layer provides a thermal barrier and is similar to existing systems. More importantly, to improve sample accessibility and sample retrieval time, a new suspended tower design was developed while an instrumentation backpack provides housing for the monitoring systems. The new suspended tower design for holding the frozen biological samples is designed to hold traditional cryovials (1.5 ml and/or 1.2 ml or 1.5 × 10−6 m3 and/or 1.2 × 10−6 m3) and can also be modified to hold larger T-flasks, if required. The instrumentation consists of a capacitance based liquid level sensor, level monitor, and transmitter. The designed system is capable of holding ∼430 cryovials and holds ∼50 l (0.05 m3) of liquid nitrogen and requires refilling approximately every four to five weeks.