On crystallization of water confined in liposomes and cryoprotective action of DMSO

In this work, the phase behavior of cryoprotective mixtures based on dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) mixed with a lipid bilayer consisting of dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine (DMPC) was studied. This system represented a model of a biological cell and its membrane. The aim of the work was to clarify the origin of the cryoprotective action of low-concentrated mixtures (1–10 vol%) DMSO in water, representing mixtures used in cryopreservation in cell therapy. The combination of experimental techniques of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) allowed a study of crystallization behavior of water confined in liposomes imitating the intracellular environment. The ability of liposomes to show the fundamental aspects of water phase behavior seen during freezing of biological cells was proved. The presence of an amorphous freeze-concentrated phase of DMSO in the frozen state was confirmed and its possible crystallization into the DMSO trihydrate and ice during thawing was demonstrated. Correlation between the critical temperature range for the loss of cell viability during slow thawing and the temperatures of freeze-concentrated phase crystallization was found. Based on this finding, possible mechanisms of DMSO cryoprotection are discussed with support brought by results for the studied model system. Quantification of the ice phase fraction in the frozen mixtures revealed that even low concentrations of DMSO can induce a considerable decrease in the amount of ice present.