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Cryopreservation (using temperatures down to that of liquid nitrogen at
–196 °C) is the only way to preserve viability and function of mammalian cells for research and transplantation and is integral to the quickly evolving field of regenerative medicine. To cryopreserve tissues, cryoprotective agents (CPAs) must be loaded into the tissue. The loading is critical because of the high concentrations required and the toxicity of the CPAs. Our mathematical model of CPA transport in cartilage describes multi-component, multi-directional, non-dilute transport coupled to mechanics of elastic porous media in a shrinking and swelling domain.
Parameters are obtained by fitting experimental data. We show that predictions agree with independent spatially and temporally resolved MRI experimental measurements. This research has contributed significantly to our interdisciplinary group’s ability to cryopreserve human articular cartilage.