Janus Nanohybrids Enable Superflash Warming and High-Affinity Ice Confinement for Cross-Scale Cryopreservation

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Cryobiology
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Cryopreservation is limited by lethal cooling and warming rates, hindering clinical applications.
• Ice formation during cryopreservation causes significant damage to biological specimens.
• Existing cryoprotective agents struggle with effective ice confinement across different scales.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel nanohybrid for enhanced cryopreservation.
• To overcome the limitations of lethal cooling and warming in cryopreservation.
• To enable scalable and on-site cryopreservation of diverse biological samples.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a Janus nanohybrid (iron tetraoxide and polypyrrole).
• Utilizing molecular dynamics simulations and Monte Carlo modeling for analysis.
• Employing magnetic rotation for rapid, uniform warming (superflash warming).

Main Results:

• Janus nanohybrid reduced mean ice crystal area by 98.4% through heterogeneous hydration.
• Anisotropic structure enhanced ice interaction and hydration anisotropy, inhibiting ice growth.
• Superflash warming achieved >920 °C/min, narrowing the hostile temperature window.

Conclusions:

• The Janus nanohybrid offers a promising technique for cross-scale cryopreservation.
• Enables cost-effective, scalable, and on-site cryopreservation with magnetic retrieval.
• Maintained near-complete viability and functionality of cryopreserved single cells, bacteria, and porcine trachea.