cryopreserve

[ krahy-oh-pri-zurv ]

verb (used with object)

, Medicine/Medical.

, cry·o·pre·served, cry·o·pre·serv·ing.

1. to maintain the viability of (cells, tissue, organs, etc.) by storing them at very low temperatures.

Other Words From

• cry·o·pres·er·va·tion [krahy-oh-prez-er-, vey, -sh, uh, n], noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of cryopreserve¹

First recorded in 1970–75; cryo- ( def ) + preserve ( def )

Example Sentences

"We can cryopreserve worms, and then thaw them for study later. That means that we can stop evolution from happening in the lab, something impossible with most other animal models, and very valuable when we want to compare animals that have experienced different evolutionary histories," said Rockman.

From Science Daily

It is possible that clones could be produced from cryopatients at some point, though to do so, it would be enough to cryopreserve live body cells, not the brain or the whole body.

From Slate

There were nine embryos left over from the three cycles, and they signed agreements with the hospital to “cryopreserve” them for transfer in the future.

From New York Times

Generally, researchers cryopreserve mouse embryos to maintain mutant mouse lines in central repositories, but Niswander’s team hadn’t yet completed the necessary experiments.

From Nature

But it is getting more requests from labs to help them cryopreserve valuable strains—freezing down sperm or embryos that can later be thawed.

From Science Magazine