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Biomaterials Congress 2019 Materials Science and Nanotechnology | Volume 3
June 19-20, 2019 | Dublin, Ireland
OF EXCELLENCE
IN INTERNATIONAL
MEETINGS
YEARS
BIOMATERIALS,
CELLULAR AND TISSUE ENGINEERING
3rd International Conference on
FRONTIERS OF BIOMATERIAL CRYOPRESERVATION FOR BANKING
Kelvin GM Brockbank
Tissue Testing Technologies LLC, USA
Effective improved tissue banking methods for natural and engineered tissues, complex allotransplants and
organs are desperately needed for transplantation. Banking of living cellular tissues using current tissue
banking practices employing conventional cryopreservation by freezing is not feasible due to the well doc-
umented damage caused by ice formation. An alternative ice-free cryopreservation approach is vitrification.
Formation of ice is prevented by the presence of high concentrations of cryoprotectants with preservation
of extracellular matrix components and optional preservation of cells. Ice-free vitrification works for a variety
of natural and engineered tissues using a formulation consisting of DMSO, formamide and propylene glycol
known as VS55, but has been unsuccessful at sample volumes over a few mLs. The major constraints for scale-
up of cryopreservation by ice-free vitrification have been avoidance of ice nucleation during warming and me-
chanical forces generated by glasses at low temperatures. In this presentation author will focus on strategies
for avoidance of ice nucleation. His first successful strategy for large tissue samples was an 83% formulation
based upon the same cryoprotectants, known as VS83. This formulation can be used to retain viable chon-
drocytes in large osteochondral grafts or for non-viable cardiovascular grafts with retention of extracellular
matrix integrity, depending upon the way in which the formulation is added and removed before and after
vitrification. Non-viable cardiovascular grafts with intact matrix have been a major research focus for the last 10
years and both in vitro and in vivo results demonstrated significantly reduced immunogenicity in heart valves
(Figure), including reduced memory T-cell proliferation and most recently modulation of TGF-β1 from latent
to active form among other statistically significant effects. They has recently been successful in scaling up the
viable preservation of large tissue samples using either nanowarming, inductive heating of iron nanoparticles
or convection warming using improved ice-free vitrification formulations.
Kelvin GM Brockbank, Mater Sci Nanotechnol 2019, Volume 3
Kelvin GM Brockbank is Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Tissue Testing Technologies LLC, USA. He was a Research Professor of
Bioengineering at Clemson University and Adjunct Professor of Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology at the Medical University of
South Carolina. His research interests include cell, tissue and organ cryopreservation for test systems and transplantation and man-
ufacturing methods for cell-based bioengineered therapy products. His work has led to the establishment of two successful publicly
traded low temperature technology platform companies, CryoLife Inc. and Lifeline Scientific Inc. He has over 500 publications and
presentations at national and international conferences including more than 30 patents related to hypothermic, frozen and vitrified
biomaterial preservation.
BIOGRAPHY