X-Message-Number: 29910
Date: Fri, 12 Oct 2007 09:31:11 -0700 (PDT)
From: 
Subject: 3-O-methyl-D-glucose may enable fully reversible cryopreserva...

[Alas, this is not at all likely due to the high price for
3-O-methyl-D-glucose of $1,500 per gram. One is reminded of the
cryoprotective superiority of DESO over DMSO. Despite this superiority no
further research has been published on DESO since 2004. Guess which is
vastly more expensive: DESO or DMSO?]

http://www.omicronbio.com/al-mg.php

Tissue Eng. 2006 Jul;12(7):1873-9.
3-O-methyl-D-glucose improves desiccation tolerance of keratinocytes.
    Norris MM, Aksan A, Sugimachi K, Toner M. Surgical Services and
Center for Engineering in Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital,
Harvard Medical School, and Shriners Hospital for Children, Boston,
Massachusetts 02114, USA.
    Transplantation of autologous skin grafts and tissue engineered skin
replacements for the treatment of burns, trauma, and ulcerative wounds
has been shown to restore a protective barrier to infection and fluid
loss, reduce heat loss, provide mechanical strength, diminish pain, and
dampen the hypermetabolic stress response to thermal injury. Patencies of
these grafts depend mainly on the high viability and sustained function
of the enmeshed keratinocytes. With growing demand in tissue replacement
therapies, development of successful and economical preservation
techniques for skin grafts and replacements becomes essential. In this
regard, if attained, desiccated state storage offers an economical
solution to availability, storage, and transportation problems. Recent
studies indicate that carbohydrates are very efficient in stabilizing
mammalian cells against various types of stresses, including those
associated with cryopreservation and desiccation. In this study we
introduce the use of 3-O-methyl-D-glucose (3-OMG), a nonmetabolizable
glucose derivative, as a new means of providing protection for
keratinocytes undergoing desiccation. We show that with decreasing water
contents, viability of the cells decreases; however, at the same water
content the immediate post-rehydration viability and long-term survival
of the cells exposed to 3-OMG are much higher than those of controls.
PMID: 16889517

Tissue Eng. 2006 Mar;12(3):579-88.
Nonmetabolizable glucose compounds impart cryotolerance to primary rat
hepatocytes.
    Sugimachi K, Roach KL, Rhoads DB, Tompkins RG, Toner M. Harvard-MIT
Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Center for Engineering in
Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and
Shriners Hospital for Children, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.
    We herein report a novel method for the cryopreservation of
hepatocytes using a non-metabolizable glucose derivative in an attempt to
mimic the natural cryoprotective adaptations observed in freeze-tolerant
frogs. Primary rat hepatocytes were loaded with 3-O-methyl glucose
(3OMG) through endogenous glucose transporters without evident
toxicity. The 3OMG-loaded hepatocytes were then frozen in a controlled
rate freezer down to -80 degrees C and stored in liquid nitrogen at -196
degrees C. Hepatocytes cryopreserved with a relatively small amount of
intracellular 3OMG (<0.2 M) showed high post-thaw viability and maintained
long-term hepatospecific functions, including synthesis, metabolism, and
detoxification. Metabolite uptake and secretion rates were also largely
preserved in the cryopreserved hepatocytes. This is the first study to
demonstrate the use of the non-metabolizable glucose derivative 3OMG in
hepatocyte cryopreservation.
PMID: 16579691

Cryobiology. 2004 Aug;49(1):1-9.
Glass-forming property of the system diethyl sulphoxide/water and its
cryoprotective action on Escherichia coli survival.
    Markarian SA, Bonora S, Bagramyan KA, Arakelyan VB. Department of
Chemistry, Yerevan State University, 375049 Yerevan, Armenia.
    In this work the thermal properties of diethyl sulphoxide (Et2SO), as
well as its cryoprotective ability are studied and related to other
well-known cryoprotectant substances, like dimethyl sulphoxide
(Me2SO). We have investigated the thermal properties of Et2SO/water
systems using Differential Scanning Calorimetry at a very low
heating/cooling rate (2 degrees C/min). Liquid/solid or
glassy/crystalline transitions have been observed only for the solutions
with content of Et2SO ranging from 5 up to 40% w/w and/or greater than
85%. In the 45-75% w/w Et2SO range we have found a noticeable
glass-forming tendency and a great stability of the amorphous state to
the reheating. In samples with Et2SO content ranging from 80 to 85%, we
observed a great stability of the glass forming by cooling, but a lesser
stability to the subsequent reheating. The glass-forming tendency of
these solutions is discussed in terms of existing competitive interactions
between molecules of Et2SO, on the one hand, and Et2SO and water
molecules, on the other hand. The results are well explainable on the
basis of the model structure of water/Et2SO solutions, deduced by Raman
and infrared studies [J. Mol. Struct. 665 (2003) 285-292]. The
cryoprotective ability of Et2SO on Escherichia coli survival has been
also investigated, and a comparison among Et2SO and other widely used
cryoprotectants, like Me2SO and glycerol has been done. Survival of
E. coli, determined after freezing-thawing process, was maximal at 45% w/w
Et2SO (more than 85% viability). It should be noted that at the same
concentration the survival is only about 35% in the presence of Me2SO and
not more than 15% in the presence of glycerol. These features are well
consisted with the glass-forming properties of Et2SO.
PMID: 15265712

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