Biopreservation of cells and engineered tissues

The development of effective preservation and long-term storage techniques is a critical requirement for the successful clinical and commercial application of emerging cell-based technologies. Biopreservation is the process of preserving the integrity and functionality of cells, tissues and organs held outside the native environment for extended storage times. Biopreservation can be categorized into four different areas on the basis of the techniques used to achieve biological stability and to ensure a viable state following long-term storage. These include in vitro culture, hypothermic storage, cryopreservation and desiccation. In this chapter, an overview of these four techniques is presented with an emphasis on the recent developments that have been made using these technologies for the biopreservation of cells and engineered tissues.