X-Message-Number: 2296
Date: Sat, 5 Jun 93 00:26:44 CDT
From: Brian Wowk <>
Subject: CRYONICS dehydration

Gregory Bloom:
 
> Interesting.  So glycerol is used for both dehydration and ice inhibition.
> Have there been studies done to separate the importance of either effect?
> Or are there no inhibitors of ice formation that would not also dehydrate
> the cells?  Also, given the apparent toxicity of glycerol, would there be
> any advantage to simply dehydrating with salts and letting the remaining
> water freeze?  (I suppose this would depend on how active the membrane
> ion transport channels are down around 0 Deg C?)
 
        Good questions.  Unfortunately they are extending beyond the 
realm of my knowledge.  My one comment would be that perhaps osmotic 
shock is what makes concentrated glycerol toxic.  If so, concentrated 
salt solutions would be similarly toxic, and not even suppress ice 
formation during deep cooling.
 
                                                --- Brian Wowk

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