X-Message-Number: 15390
Date: Fri, 19 Jan 2001 10:01:04 -0800 (PST)
From: Doug Skrecky <>
Subject: alas! 40% ethylene glycol is toxic to arteries

Title
  The effect of cooling rate and temperature on the toxicity of
  ethylene glycol in the rabbit internal carotid artery.
Source
  Cryobiology.  33(4):423-9, 1996 Aug.
Abstract
  The smooth muscle and vascular endothelium of small elastic arteries (the
  rabbit common carotid artery) are injured by exposure to 40%
  ethylene glycol (EG) at 4 degrees C, and additional damage
  occurs when the arteries are cooled without freezing to -20 degrees C. This
  paper reports attempts to reduce this injury by altering the cooling rate and
  temperature of exposure to the cryoprotectant. Very slow cooling (0.1 degree
  C/min) removed all residual smooth muscle and endothelial function when
  assessed in vitro after rewarming and removal of the cryoprotectant. Very
  rapid cooling to -20 degrees C also increased the injury, both to the
  endothelium and to the smooth muscle. Reducing the temperature of exposure to
  40% EG from +4 degrees C to -20 degrees C had no beneficial effect on the
  smooth muscle but enabled the vascular endothelium to retain some functional
  activity. These data suggest that the mechanism responsible may be related to
  the physical properties of ethylene glycol rather than to a
  biochemical interaction with metabolic processes, and that it is a mechanism
  which is highly specific for the cell types involved. It also underlines the
  difficulties involved in the successful cryopreservation of
  complex tissues and organs.

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