Effects of nanoparticles on the nucleation and devitrification temperatures of polyol cryoprotectant solutions

To investigate the efficiency of nanoparticles as nucleation agents in polyol cryoprotectant solutions at cryogenic temperatures, the nucleation and devitrification temperatures of these solutions with different concentrations of diamond, gold, copper-nickel, and silicon nanoparticles were measured through differential scanning calorimetry. The results show that ice growth in these cryoprotectant solutions is prominently accelerated by nanoparticles and the devitrification temperatures of cryoprotectant solutions are significantly lowered by nanoparticles. These findings can be used to improve the efficiency of cell cryopreservation procedures and open numerous avenues of investigations regarding the application of nanoparticles in cryogenics.