Every year, researchers store billions of biological samples through cryopreservation – that is, by freezing them. But as many as 50 percent of these samples, which can include stem cells, immune cells, organoids and viral stocks, are lost, rendered unusable by instability in the freezing process.

This wastes researchers’ time, money and valuable biological samples.

Enter HOHCells, a College Park-based biotechnology device firm which recently launched its patented FreezOpt™ technology to reduce the risk of losing samples during freezing.

Historically, scientists have been unable to control exactly when ice begins to form in a sample, Xiaoming (Shawn) He, founder of HOHCells said in a recent news release.

But FreezOpt – a small insert made of proprietary material that goes in each cryovial – triggers ice formation much more consistently without requiring major changes to the cryopreservation process. The result: nearly twice as many frozen cells remain viable after being frozen and thawed, according to HOHCells.

“Cryopreservation remains one of the least controlled steps in many biological workflows,” HOHCells CEO Greg Merril said in the news release. “FreezOpt gives researchers a simple way to introduce control into that process without requiring new equipment or changes to established protocols.”

FreezOpt is currently available for research use only and is compatible with commonly used cryovials and controlled-rate freezing workflows, according to HOHCells.

HOHCells developed the technology with support from the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund, and the product is manufactured at the Mtech Ventures incubator at the University of Maryland, College Park.