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.
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).