Relation of Oxygen and Temperature in the Preservation of Tissues by Refrigeration

Abstract

An inquiry has been made into conditions which may influence the viability of 1×1 cm areas of biopsied rabbit skin during refrigeration at 0° and 6-8°C. Since the availability of oxygen, as well as the nature of the storage medium, had an, important influence on the preservation of viability at these two temperatures, these relationships may be of interest to those wishing to store or ship tissues for surgical and other purposes. Tissues separated from the circulation rapidly become anoxemic and necrotic at room or body temperatures. This condition may be prevented in uterine or intestinal strips by oxygenation or by chilling., The survival of ligated limbs and of the cells in whole embryos, or organs, is optimal (among the widely spaced temperatures which have been studied) at 0°. At this temperature respiration is minimal, while oxygen solubility in water is twice that at 30°. Though Lambert Carrel, and Hetherington and Craig found 0 to 7° favorable for preserving the small masses of crowded cells in embryonic tissue fragments, there is considerable evidence that the thin perimeter of migrating and dividing cells in established tissue cultures has maximal longevity around 30° and are unable to re-establish growth after refrigeration for a few days., , Upon considering the fact that large tissues are killed more rapidly at higher temperatures and small groups of thinly spread cells at low temperatures, it seemed not unlikely that one of the common denominators might be a question of oxygen supply and demand. Methods. After shaving and scrubbing, the chosen area of rabbit skin was covered for 2 minutes with a wet pack of tincture of iodine diluted 1:2 in water, and again scrubbed with alcohol. The strips of biopsied skin, either full- or half-skin depth were cut into 1×1 cm pieces.