A New Device for Mechanical Testing of Blood Vessels at Cryogenic Temperatures

As part of an ongoing program to study the thermo-mechanical effects associated with cryopreservation via vitrification (vitreous in Latin means glassy), the current study focuses on the development of a new device for mechanical testing of blood vessels at cryogenic temperatures. This device is demonstrated on a bovine carotid artery model, permeated with the cryoprotectant cocktail VS55 and a reference solution of 7.05M DMSO, below glass transition. Results are also presented for crystallized specimens, in the absence of cryoprotectants. Results indicate that the elastic modulus of a specimen with no cryoprotectant, at about −140°C (8.6 and 15.5°C below the glass transition temperature of 7.05M DMSO and VS55, respectively), is 1038.8 ± 25.2 MPa, which is 8 and 3% higher than that of a vitrified specimen permeated with 7.05M DMSO and VS55, respectively. The elastic modulus of a crystallized material at −50°C is lower by ∼20% lower from that at −140°C.