Survival of biological cells deformed in a narrow gap

Recent studies show that during slow freezing of biological cells, the cells may be also injured by not only chemical damage but also mechanical damage induced by ice crystal compression. A new experimental procedure is developed to quantify cell destruction by deformation with two parallel surfaces. The viability of cells (prostatic carcinoma cells, 17.5 μm in mean diameter) is measured as a function of gap size ranging from 3.5 μm to 16.2 μm at 0°C, 23°C and 37°C. The viability at a smaller gap size is significantly lower at 37°C than at 23°C, while the difference between 0°C and 23°C is much smaller. This suggests that deformation damage is related to the deformation of the cytoskeleton rather than the mechanical properties of the lipid membrane.