A cryopreservation medium is a specialized solution formulated to protect cells, tissues, and other biological materials from damage during freezing, ultralow-temperature storage, and thawing. The medium serves multiple critical functions: it reduces or prevents lethal intracellular ice formation, moderates osmotic stress during the freeze–thaw cycle, and maintains cellular integrity and function upon recovery. Cryopreservation media are indispensable across basic research, biobanking, cell therapy manufacturing, and reproductive medicine.

Applications

Cryopreservation media are employed across a broad spectrum of biological and clinical applications.

Cell therapy manufacturing. Cryopreservation is central to the manufacturing of CAR-T cells, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), and other advanced therapy medicinal products. Traditional formulations use 5–10% DMSO with human serum albumin or serum, while serum-free and animal-origin-free alternatives are increasingly preferred for regulatory compliance.

Biobanking. Cryopreservation media enable the long-term storage of cells, tissues, and biological samples in biorepositories. Serum-free media such as CryoStor CS10 and NutriFreez D10 maintained high viability and functionality for up to 2 years post-freezing.

Stem cell research. Human pluripotent stem cells, including embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells, are cryopreserved in defined, xeno-free media. A trehalose-based solution has been used to cryo-store human umbilical cord-derived MSCs in liquid nitrogen, with the best cell recovery obtained using 0.5 M trehalose with 10% ethylene glycol showing no differences in osteogenic, adipogenic, and chondrogenic differentiation capacity.

Reproductive medicine. Cryopreservation media are essential for the preservation of sperm, oocytes, and embryos. Sucrose at 0.2–0.3 M is widely used as a CPA in media for human oocytes.