Technology

CryoXtract’s frozen sample aliquotter system allows for the retrieval of multiple frozen samples from a single vial without going through the freeze-thaw process. To laboratories, biorepositories, and any user that requires the storing and freezing of samples, the use of this technology represents:

• Improved sample integrity/Reduction or elimination of sample degradation.
• Time and labor savings. By eliminating the thawing of frozen samples, time and labor required to prepare a sample for distribution is reduced by 80%.
• Space savings. Samples could be stored in fewer, larger tubes. On average, it could reduce vials per sample from 10 to 1 or 2, reducing the amount of freezers and freezer space needed in a biorepository.

Basically speaking, CryoXtract’s patent-pending technology is a specialized core drilling system that uses a hollow core drilling apparatus to extract a frozen core under cryogenic conditions.
Key components of the frozen sample aliquotter include:

• The coring needle
• A motor that drives the hollow bit coring needle
• An ejection pin within the coring needle
• A grip to hold the specimen vial in place
• A cooling system that maintains cryogenic temperature and low humidity during the extraction process
• A computerized vision system used to recognize the tube perimeter, identify the presence of any existing bore holes, and compute an optimal coring location in order to maximize the number of cores that can be extracted
• A computer-controlled recognition system used to identify and track source and destination tubes
• Systems that provide sterilization of the coring needle between extractions in order to prevent possible cross-contamination

The apparatus maintains the specimen at a range of -90 C to -10 C to prevent frost from forming and takes aliquot volumes ranging from 10 μl to 50 mL from various size containers. It works with various types of receiving devices including an assay tube, cryotube, a compartment in an array, and a multi-well dish.


Using CryoXtract’s technology, multiple cores can be extracted and the remainder returned to the storage vault without having been exposed to the freeze-thaw cycle. In addition to preserving sample integrity, the instrument also reduces the time it takes to obtain aliquots, since no time is spent thawing and refreezing. This high-throughput capability is an important benefit - even for samples that are not susceptible to freeze-thaw damage.