Alternatives to cryopreservation for the short and long-term storage of mammalian cells

The ability to preserve mammalian cells has long been a critical part of cell-based research for several reasons. It allows for the transport of cells between laboratories or sites, ensures the availability of consistent starting material for the research through the establishment of cell banks and can uncouple cell-based assays from the culture process. Although cryopreservation, whether conventional slow freezing or vitrification, is widely used as a method for preserving cells long-term, it can result in low cell recovery post-thaw and the cryoprotective agents used in the freezing medium can be cytotoxic. With the emergence of a cell-based therapies industry, where clinical grade cells will need to be stored and transported, there is a growing need to develop scalable GMPcompatible preservation methods that retain not just high cell viability but also clinical efficacy. With these issues in mind, this review will explore two alternatives to cryopreservation: cell desiccation for long-term storage of cells and the short-term storage of cells under hypothermic (>0°C) conditions. © 2013 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.