Design, alpha testing, and beta testing of a 3-D printed open-hardware portable cryopreservation device for aquatic species

ABSTRACT

Efforts in development of germplasm repositories to preserve genetic resources of aquatic species are impeded globally by a lack of standardized, inexpensive, reproducible, and portable cryopreservation technologies. The present work demonstrates a 3-D printed standardizable freezing device that can be used with nitrogen vapor shipping dewars for on-site sperm cryopreservation for aquatic species and be distributed as open-hardware. This device could hold 22 French straws (0.25-mL or 0.5-mL) and a quick-release ring design could eject straws directly into a canister inside a dewar by pressing a button after freezing. The final prototypes produced cooling rates of 1 to 68°C/min for 0.25-mL straws, and 3 to 37°C/min for 0.5-mL straws with a material cost of 3.5 USD for a single device and 1,820–2,562 USD for batch production of 20 replicates (including labor and purchase of 3-D printers). Progressing through design, prototyping, and testing was delineated to help guide the development of open-source devices within cryopreservation user communities.

KEYWORDS:

• Sperm cryopreservation
• germplasm
• repositories
• 3-D printing
• alpha testing
• beta testing
• open hardware

Acknowledgments

We thank A. Guitreau, J. Furr, and H. Shamkhalichenar for technical assistance. This manuscript was approved for publication Louisiana State University Agricultural Center as number 2020-241-34927.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported in part by funding from the National Institutes of Health, Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (R24-OD010441 and R24-OD011120), with additional support provided by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, United States Department of Agriculture (Hatch project LAB94420), USDA NAGP-AGGRC Cooperative Agreements (Award 58-3012-8-006 and 58-3012-5-017), the Louisiana State University Research & Technology Foundation (AG-2018-LIFT-003), and the LSU-ACRES (Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species) Collaborative Program.