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Vitrification: An Overview

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Vitrification in Assisted Reproduction

Abstract

Traditionally, employed methods for cryopreservation of living cells depend on the approach of slow freezing. Unfortunately, cryopreservation by freezing may result in loss of function and viability by several recognized mechanisms of which ice formation is the most significant. An alternative to freezing is cryopreservation by vitrification. Vitrification is the solidification of a liquid without crystallization and is an increasingly popular method of cryopreservation. Along with solving a variety of basic and applied biological problems, vitrification has gained importance by making cryopreservation easier and more convenient as compared to conventional freezing methods for many living systems. In the field of reproduction, vitrification is currently used for the routine cryopreservation of embryos, gametes, ovarian tissues, and possibly even the whole ovaries. The chapter covers the historical origins of the modern concept of vitrification as a means of cryopreservation and the basic principle of vitrification.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Repro-Support Medical Research Centre, 2-5-5-8F, Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 160-0022, Japan

    Masashige Kuwayama PhD

  2. IVF Department, Rotunda – The Center for Human Reproduction, 36 Turner Road, B Wing, 101, 1st Floor, Bandra West, Mumbai, Maharashtra, 400050, India

    Goral Gandhi MSc, Sakina Kagalwala MSc & Ramya Ramani MSc (Biotechnology)

Authors
  1. Masashige Kuwayama PhD
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  2. Goral Gandhi MSc
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  3. Sakina Kagalwala MSc
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  4. Ramya Ramani MSc (Biotechnology)
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Goral Gandhi MSc .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Rotunda, The Centre for Human Reproduction, Mumbai, India

    Gautam Allahbadia

  2. Repro-Support Medical Research Centre, Tokyo, Japan

    Masashige Kuwayama

  3. Rotunda, The Center for Human Reproduction, Mumbai, India

    Goral Gandhi

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© 2015 Springer India

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Kuwayama, M., Gandhi, G., Kagalwala, S., Ramani, R. (2015). Vitrification: An Overview. In: Allahbadia, G., Kuwayama, M., Gandhi, G. (eds) Vitrification in Assisted Reproduction. Springer, New Delhi. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-1527-1_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-1527-1_1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New Delhi

  • Print ISBN: 978-81-322-1526-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-81-322-1527-1

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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