Effects of Glycerol on the Thermal Properties of Phosphate Buffered Saline and Porcine Liver at Subzero Temperatures

Improvements in the prediction of thermal behavior during cryosurgery and cryopreservation can help improve the outcome of these cryobiological applications. The accuracy of the models depends on numerous factors including the kinetics and energy release during phase change phenomena and knowledge of thermal properties. Furthermore, connecting the thermal properties to crystalline, amorphous, and other phases adds an important mechanistic dimension that can also improve and direct an outcome. However, insufficient data for thermal properties in the subzero domain result in reliance on property estimations based usually upon tabulated water-ice data or weight averaged values from known materials primarily in temperature ranges above −40 °C [1]. This study focused on expanding the thermal properties database for both solutions and tissues. Results for Phosphate Buffered Saline (PBS) and porcine liver with glycerol at subzero temperatures (−150 ∼ 0 °C) are reported. The shifting of thermal property values due to sample crystallization, amorphous phase transition, and melting is discussed.