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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Albany, California » Western Regional Research Center » Healthy Processed Foods Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #420185
Research Project: New Sustainable Processes, Preservation Technologies, and Product Concepts for Specialty Crops and Their Co-Products

Location: Healthy Processed Foods Research

Title: The thermodynamic principles of isochoric freezing pressure-aided supercooling

Author
item MAIDA, ALAN - University Of California Berkeley
item PEREZ, PEDRO - University Of California Berkeley
item Bilbao-Sainz, Cristina
item RUBINSKY, BORIS - University Of California Berkeley
item CONSIGLIO, ANTHONY - University Of California Berkeley

Submitted to: Cryobiology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/16/2024
Publication Date: 12/5/2024
Citation: Maida, A., Perez, P.A., Bilbao-Sainz, C., Rubinsky, B., Consiglio, A. 2024. The thermodynamic principles of isochoric freezing pressure-aided supercooling. Cryobiology. 118. Article 105168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cryobiol.2024.105168.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cryobiol.2024.105168

Interpretive Summary: Supercooling is a metastable thermodynamic state in which water remains liquid at temperatures below its equilibrium phase transition temperature (e.g., 0°C for ordinary water at 0.1 MPa). Despite the significant potential for supercooling to improve preservation outcomes, the technique suffers an inherent drawback: as a metastable state, it is susceptible to spontaneous ice nucleation, which can negate its beneficial effects. We have introduced a method to design a system that can lower the preservation temperature of a supercooled system without increasing the likelihood of nucleation. This approach leverages isochoric freezing to aid in controlling the probability of ice nucleation. This technology provides a novel solution for maintaining supercooled states, potentially enhancing the preservation of biological materials.

Technical Abstract: This study outlines a method for designing an isochoric (constant volume) system to reduce the supercooling preservation temperature without affecting the likelihood of ice nucleation and without the need for cryoprotective additives. The method involves a multiphase system wherein the biological material is separated from a second aqueous solution by a boundary that transfers pressure and heat but not mass. The pressure within the system is passively increased by the confined growth of ice within the secondary solution. This increased pressure in turn lowers the equilibrium freezing temperature of the biological matter, which may be utilized to lower the preservation temperature while maintaining the same degree of supercooling. For example, using this technique, the supercooling preservation temperature may be lowered from –2ºC to –5ºC without increasing the risk of ice nucleation, by ensuring the freezable phase makes up ~17% of the total system volume.