Principles and advances of cell cryopreservation

Long-term cryopreservation of living cells at ultralow temperatures is the key core technology to ensure the high-quality running of modern biobanks, and it has important fundamental research and clinical application value. Its standard and scale applications are playing an irreplaceable and important supporting role in clinical transfusion, drug development, plant and animal breeding and reproduction, and many other areas. Contemporary cryopreservation systems mainly focus on finding the ideal cryoprotectants, and seeking the best balance between the injuries caused by the toxicity and osmotic shocks of the cryoprotectants and their cryoprotection effects. This paper reviews the historic perspectives and progress in the cell cryopreservation field; reports authors' and peers' major achievements and technological breakthroughs in cryopreservation research and development; and envisions the future trends in cryopreservation and its great applications.