-
Title
-
From Farm to Freezer to Pharmacy: The 21st Century’s Cryoprotectant
-
Description
-
Freezer preservation is the long-time status quo for prolonging the storage of biological material. This simple process is easily accessible to physicians, scientists, restaurant workers, or any home cook. However, the formation of ice crystals within frozen biological mass can cause serious structural or biochemical damage. In a household setting, this could materialize as freezer burn, while a clinical example could be the destruction of sensitive biological therapeutics. My Ph.D. work focuses on developing a novel cryoprotectant that can alleviate this ice-induced damage, ushering in a new era of cryopreservation. This widely applicable, cheap-to-produce material slows the formation of large ice crystals, as shown in the center of the image.
Surrounding the ice crystal images are examples to showcase the various applications in which this cryoprotectant could be utilized. Vegetables with high water content, biological pharmaceuticals, and cellular cryopreservation are all potential targets. Beyond this, we are exploring its application as a solubility enhancer, a desperately needed tool in the era of insoluble drugs.
Science is a uniquely creative process, and I aimed to capture the frantic day-to-day of a Ph.D. student through the medium of the collage itself, as well as post-its strewn throughout the image and a diverse mix of angles and shapes.
-
Date
-
2026-01-24
-
Creator
-
Buzinski, Tara
