X-Message-Number: 4744
From:  (Albert-Jan Brouwer)
Newsgroups: sci.cryonics
Subject: Heavy Water
Date: 7 Aug 1995 18:28:16 GMT
Message-ID: <405m00$>

I was wondering; have people considered using heavy water for
"suspension" perfusates?

D2O has a higher viscosity +25%, is 11% denser, has a higher freezing
point (4 degrees Celcius).  It will no doubt significantly quench the
rate of many enzymatic reactions.  Acidity will be affected though.

What would be especially interesting is to learn more about ice growth
in tissue perfused with D2O (or various mixtures/concentrations of D2O,
HDO and H2O).  Is anyone aware of such work?

Off hand I'd guess that the higher the D concentration, the better the
chance of glassification instead of crystalisation mostly because of
the higher viscosity, slower kinetics.  Also, the average geometeries
of D2O and HDO differ very slightly from that of H2O due to the
different zero point energy of the normal modes of vibration in
somewhat anharmonic potentials. But this is probably negligible as far
as ice formation is concerned.

---
Albert-Jan Brouwer  (EMail )
"Sleep -- those little slices of death -- how I loathe them!"
-- Edgar A. Poe


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