Recent studies hsow that during slow feezing of dcells, in addition to chemical damage, the cells may be also injured by mechanical damage induced by ice crystal compression. A new experimental procedure is employed to develop a quantitative understanding of cell destruction by deformation with two parallel surfaces. The viability of deformed cells (prostatic carcinoma cells, 17.5 mu m in mean diameter) is measured at 0 deg C, 23 deg C and 37 deg C, and six different nominal gap sizes between 32 mu m and 3.5 mu m. The relation between measured viability and gap size at 0 deg C and 23 deg C are identifical but the viability decreases at 37 deg C. This may suggest that deformation damage is not related to the mechanical properties of the lipid membrane but the deformation of the cytoskeleton.
展开▼
