Water-Free Vs Water Bath Cell Thawing

Alternative to water baths for thawing frozen cells

How cells are thawed determines their viability and function. Conventionally, cells are thawed in a water bath at 37°C. This practice is problematic, because water baths pose contamination risks. They also require calibration and validation. Most importantly, water baths do not provide a record of the thaw process.

Asymptote (now part of Cytiva) has developed dry thawing systems that overcome many of the issues inherent in water baths. These thawing systems also enable accurate data logging. VIA Thaw CB1000 is designed specifically to thaw cells in bags (cryobags).

This benchmarking study compares performance of the VIA Thaw CB1000 system and a water bath for thawing frozen cells. The samples were mobilized apheresis samples from patients with multiple myeloma or non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. CD34+ and CD45+ cell recoveries were determined after thawing. These cell types are widely used as markers for the quality of mobilized apheresis samples.