Ultrarapid freezing: a new low-cost and effective method of embryo cryopreservation.

The authors describe a rapid freezing method (ultrarapid freezing) that has been developed for cryopreservation of early cleavage stage embryos. In the present experiments, 2-cell mouse embryos were frozen under a wide range of conditions in an attempt to optimize their survival and viability in vitro and in vivo. The experiments show that embryos exposed briefly (2 to 2.5 minutes) to relatively high concentrations of dimethyl sulfoxide (3 to 4 M) and 0.25 M sucrose survive and develop when plunged directly into liquid nitrogen and thawed in a 37 degrees C waterbath when sealed in 0.25-ml plastic pailettes. Survival and viability rates of ultrarapidly frozen embryos after thawing were comparable to those obtained with conventional slow-freezing techniques. The authors believe that this freezing technique can be further improved and that the speed, ease, and low cost of the method make it a very attractive alternative to more conventional methods for freezing early cleavage stage embryos.