Can You Ship Living Cells and Organoids
Without Dry Ice?
Transporting living biological samples usually means managing freezing, dry ice and cold-chain logistics. An alternative strategy uses soft hydrogel encapsulation to stabilize cells, tissues and complex 3D models during short-term storage and transport.
Why Is Biological Sample Transport So Difficult?
Primary cells, stem cells, tissues and organoids are sensitive not only to temperature but also to mechanical stress and freeze-thaw procedures.
For complex models, maintaining viability alone may not be sufficient. Morphology, marker expression and biological function may also need to remain consistent after transportation.
This makes sample logistics an important experimental variable, particularly when biological models are transferred between laboratories, CROs and pharmaceutical research sites.
An Alternative Approach: Hydrogel Encapsulation
Atelerix preservation technology encapsulates biological samples within a soft, biocompatible hydrogel matrix.
The semi-permeable matrix provides physical protection and helps stabilize cellular membrane integrity while metabolic activity is reduced.
When the sample reaches its destination, a dissolution buffer releases the cells or tissues so they can return to culture or proceed into downstream assays.
A Four-Step Workflow
Prepare cells, organoids, spheroids or tissues using the appropriate workflow.
Apply the hydrogel formulation to create a protective matrix around the sample.
Samples are stored or transported under validated ambient or refrigerated conditions depending on sample type.
Dissolve the gel and recover the biological sample for culture or analysis.
Why Is This Particularly Interesting for Organoids?
Transporting organoids presents a different challenge from transporting a conventional cell suspension.
The three-dimensional architecture is part of the biological model, so preservation should consider structural and functional integrity in addition to cell viability.
STORganoid™ was developed specifically for organoids and spheroids and is designed to preserve these models at ambient temperature for up to 10 days.
This may be particularly useful when organoid production and downstream testing are performed at different research sites.
Different Formats Require Different Preservation Strategies
| Sample Format | Examples | Example Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Cell Suspension | Primary, stem and immune cells | CytoStor™ |
| Multi-well Plate | Assay-ready cells and 3D models | WellReady™ |
| Tissue | Biopsies, resections and microtissues | TissueReady™ |
| Organoid / Spheroid | Complex 3D models | STORganoid™ |
What About Assay-Ready Plates?
In drug discovery and CRO workflows, transferring a vial of cells may not be the most efficient approach.
Sometimes the desired product is an assay-ready multi-well plate.
WellReady™ is designed to protect cell monolayers and complex 3D models in 24-, 48-, 96- and 384-well plate formats during storage and transport.
At the receiving site, the hydrogel is dissolved, the plate is returned to culture conditions and the recovered model can proceed to downstream assays.
Does This Replace Cryopreservation?
Not necessarily.
Cryopreservation remains essential for long-term cell banking and master cell stocks.
Hydrogel preservation addresses a different problem: maintaining fresh biological material for short-term transfer between sites without necessarily freezing the sample.
The appropriate method should therefore be selected according to sample type, required preservation period, transport conditions and downstream performance requirements.
Applications Worth Considering
✓ Organoid and spheroid transport
✓ Primary cell shipment
✓ iPSC-derived cell models
✓ CRO-to-client model transfer
✓ Multi-site drug screening
✓ Tissue and biopsy transport
✓ Immune-cell research
✓ Cell-therapy process development
✓ Assay-ready plate distribution
Need to Transport Cells, Organoids or Tissue?
Dana Bioscience can help evaluate products and workflow options for
cell, organoid, 3D-model and biological-sample preservation.
Share your sample type, cell number or organoid size,
required preservation time, transport conditions and downstream assay,
and we can help identify appropriate preservation options.