How to Reduce Cryo-concentration With World-class Tools in Freeze/thaw Process

Protecting your product throughout the freeze/thaw process can be a delicate task. Freeze too slowly, your proteins may aggregate and degrade. Thaw in a water bath, you might encounter contamination. Most commonly, cryo-concentration, where your protein is not evenly distributed throughout your frozen container, poses a risk to critical product quality attributes. There are countless ways improper freeze/thaw processes can ruin sensitive therapeutics and cell and gene therapies, but the proper tools can help you reduce cryo-concentration and bioburden while achieving the best return on investment and optimization of your process.

Starting with method development, the cold chain process is the heart of how to maximize yield. Now that you have your big vat of biologics, the following factors play a vital role in making the most of your efforts:

How you fill into bags
What you freeze your product in
How you ship your product
How and what your product is thawed in
How you perform final dispense

No matter your therapeutic, your freezer plays a vital role in the cause and/or effect of cryo-concentration. Here are some considerations to ponder and tips to prevent cryo-concentration:

Storage container – is your biologic stored in a bottle or bag? Our single-use Aramus™ bags are high purity, non-leachable, robust, and tailored for your freeze/thaw workflow. The unique 2D geometry of Aramus bags maximize thermal transfer when paired with the right shell in the right freezer. Bottle geometries do not support scalable heat transfer and can only be used in blast freezers, resulting in inconsistent freezing across sizes. Don’t limit yourself with bottles and risk product viability from limited freezing techniques.
Freezer selection- uncontrolled freezing may result in uneven ice formation and cryo-concentration. Controlled rate plate and forced-air freezers minimize this risk and allow you to customize the application-specific freeze rate for your biologic. Is your freezer up to the task?
Thawing equipment- Do you thaw at room temperature or in a water bath? How long does it take you to thaw? Thawing rates are just as important as freezing rates in their impact on product quality. Diminish the threat of contamination and improve product viability using controlled thaw systems that uniformly thaw your biologic.

Our Life Sciences Technology Center has the tools and equipment to show you firsthand how to optimize your freeze/thaw workflow, with technology for every step from fill to dispense. We’re your partner in delivering beneficial customer outcomes by configuring optimized freeze/thaw workflow solutions. Let us help you optimize your process today.

Exploring the Superiority of Silicon Carbide in Optical Components

Exploring the Superiority of Silicon Carbide in Optical Components Silicon carbide (SiC) is a leading material for high-performance optical components, offering numerous advantages over traditional materials such as glass and metal. Its exceptional specific stiffness, high thermal conductivity, and outstanding dimensional stability position SiC as a superior choice compared to beryllium and low-expansion glass ceramics. Historically, the high costs associated with the preliminary shaping and final finishing of SiC have hindered its widespread adoption in optical systems. The material is both hard and strong, requiring precision machining with expensive diamond tooling on high-quality, rigid machine tools. However, advances in manufacturing techniques, such as near-net-shape slip casting, have demonstrated success in reducing costs despite necessitating significant diamond grinding. Building on this success, Entegris offers an entirely new way of creating SiC. Using our chemical vapor conversion process, we can create net- or near net-shaped SiC components in complex forms while spending much less time on fabrication.

Entegris

January 6, 2025

Designing for Extended Performance in Life Science Contaminant Removal

Designing for Extended Performance in Life Science Contaminant Removal Filters have a finite lifetime, and their performance also changes over time. How do you get the most performance over the longest lifespan?

Entegris

November 21, 2024

Entegris Offers New FOUP Form-Factors for Non-Standard Wafers

Entegris Offers New FOUP Form-Factors for Non-Standard Wafers Over the last few years, 3D stacking has gone from a relatively niche fabrication method to an absolute necessity for cutting-edge applications. As chipmakers delve into smaller and smaller nodes, stacking and die-bonding wafers has become a preferred way of creating more processing power in a smaller space. Stacked and bonded wafers don’t behave the same way as 2D wafers: Wafers are thinned prior to bonding, which results in wafers that can sag when handled Bonded wafers are thicker and heavier than 2D wafers when assembled Bonded wafers can also warp following assembly Many automation tools rely on the predictable geometry and characteristics of 2D silicon wafers for safe handling and transport. While stacked and bonded wafers are a game-changer for miniaturization, they can also force manufacturing compromises unless chipmakers adopt specialized tools for the back end of the line (BEOL).

Entegris

November 20, 2024

Ensights