Freeze-drying of Red Blood Cells Using Ultrafast Cooling by Spraying into a Vacuum

Ultrafast cooling inhibits the growth of ice crystals and prevents red blood cells from being damaged by ice crystals. Micro-Powder-Dry (mu PD), a novel freeze-drying technique, was applied in this work. Using the mu PD approach, we looked at the hemolysis and morphology of frozen/freeze-dried red blood cells. After freezing, the mu PD method had a higher recovery rate than the slow freezing method. The recovery of the red blood cells was maintained after freeze-drying.