BioCision Announces the CoolCell for Reproducible Cell Freezing

CoolCell from BioCision features a solid thermal core for consistent, controlled –1ºC/minute cell freezing in a -80ºC freezer, without any alcohol. Requiring only minutes between freezing cycles and no maintenance, CoolCell provides truly user-friendly and environmentally-conscious cell freezing.

Eliminating the use of hazardous solvents, such as isopropanol, is a major benefit of CoolCell – helping labs reduce costs and hazardous waste. Importantly, the elimination of alcohol also means the elimination of variability in freezing runs. CoolCell delivers repeatable, constant cooling of –1ºC/minute and provides identical freezing for all samples. The result is increased reproducibility and superior cell viability and function for scientific, clinical and diagnostic procedures.

CoolCell holds 12 screw cap 2ml cryotubes and is ideal for multiple batch freezing in a –80ºC freezer. No pre-cooling is necessary, CoolCell can be placed in the freezer at any angle and freezer heating is minimized. Samples are ready for archive storage within 3 hours, while rapid recycling between freezes saves valuable time. The unbreakable, insulated design of the CoolCell ensures easy portability of frozen cells – without ‘frosty’ fingers – and the lid opens easily even when frozen.

Alcohol-filled containers need continuous maintenance, generate hazardous waste and require extended waiting between cycles. The alcohol must be replaced frequently because it changes with each freezing run, introducing an unnecessary variable into each frozen sample. CoolCell is superior in every respect, as BioCision customers are keen to testify. According to Rohit K. Gupta of Stanford University: ‘We run a registry, in which large amounts of Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells are processed for long-term cryopreservation. After testing the CoolCell, we found slightly better cell viability (>90%) than with our current cell freezing containers, and there is no isopropanol waste generated. Overall, the CoolCell has set a new bar in cryopreservation.’

Sam Knight of Ceramisphere, Australia, commented: ‘One big advantage of the CoolCell is that you can use dry ice to do your freezing if you don’t have a –80ºC freezer. I spent nearly a year getting terrible viability-recovery on freezing HeLa cells with dry ice in an alcohol device. I then bought a CoolCell and now I can just use standard cryopreservation techniques (DMSO, 20% NBS) and get nearly 100% viability on thawing.’