Many MindedSugar-and-amino-acid molecule offers a gentler way to freeze living cells
A team at the University of New England in Australia, working with colleagues at RMIT University and the University of Ottawa, is developing a new additive for freezing living biological material. Ph.D. student Michael Foster leads the work, supervised by Dr. Brendan Wilkinson. It is published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry B (2026) under the title 'Amino acid-functionalised trehalose for multifunctional cryopreservation'.
The starting point is a known problem. Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is widely used and effective, but it can be toxic and does not suit some cell types. Foster looks instead to organisms that survive cold and dehydration by building up sugars and amino acids such as trehalose and proline. His approach modifies these natural molecules to create one compound that combines several complementary protective properties.
The link to abundance is organ availability. About 2,000 people in Australia are on the transplant waiting list. Foster says better preservation could give clinicians more time to find recipients, allow organs to travel farther, and eventually support organ banking. Matching and logistics are a real constraint on transplants, so a longer storage window would loosen it. The same tools could store sperm, eggs, embryos and tissue, including genetic material from threatened species for breeding programs.
The caveats are large. The research is at an early stage and clinical use is a long way off. Foster says a better cryoprotectant is only one piece: freezing and thawing technology, delivery into complex tissues and organs, biological testing, engineering and regulatory work are all needed. He also says it is uncertain whether these particular molecules will be used directly. The work may mainly reveal useful properties and design strategies. Any talk of shrinking the waiting list is a hope, not a result.
Source: Phys.org