Cell Freezing Media and Salt-Based Solutions

High-Performance Protection for Cell Freezing and Non-Freezing Storage

Sartorius offers biopreservation solutions for short-term cold storage as well as long-term cryopreservation. NutriFreez® cell freezing and NutriStor® Cold Storage Solutions are designed and validated for the preservation of cells, including sensitive cells such as stem cells, T cells, and PBMCs  . They provide animal component-free (ACF) conditions during biopreservation, essential to maintaining consistency when culturing cells in xeno-free and ACF systems. With proven reliability and consistency, NutriFreez® and NutriStor® provide a high performance and recovery rate after cold storage, freezing, and thawing processes.

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Cryopreservation and Cold-Storage Solutions

  • Optimized to protect a wide range of human and animal-derived cells including primary cells, lymphocytes and stem cells in temperatures as low as -196°C, as well as in non-frozen short-term storage and shipment

  • Enhanced cell viability and recovery 

  • Unique, serum-free, fully defined formulations

  • Manufactured in accordance with applicable cGMP guidelines 

  • Suitable for clinical applications

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Choose the Optimal Freezing Media for Your Cells

NutriFreez® D10 Cryopreservation Media effectively maintain cell viability, adhesion, and bioactivity in various cell types including stem cells, T cells, PBMCs, CHO, and Vero cells. 

  • Contains 10% DMSO 

  • Animal component-free 

  • Protein-free 

  • Ready-to-use solution, simple protocol 

  • Manufactured in accordance with applicable cGMP guidelines 

  • Drug Master File (DMF) available 

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NutriStem® D10 Performance Data

Maximum hMSC Proliferation with Normal Morphology

hMSCs in NutriFreez® D10 Cryopreservation Medium exhibit normal morphology and exceptional proliferation, compared to other commercial serum-free solutions, three days post-thaw. 

High hMSC Viability Rate After Long-Term Freezing

NutriFreez® D10 Cryopreservation Medium yields greater than 91% viability after long-term cryopreservation

High Recovery of hPSCs

Single-cell recovery, morphology, and attachment of human induced pluripotent stem cells post cryopreservation in NutriFreez® D10 Cryopreservation Medium 

High Viability of PBMCs

PBMCs cryopreserved in NutriFreez® D10 show ≥ 91% viability when compared to cells cryopreserved in homebrew freezing solutions

Choose the Optimal Freezing Solution for Cell Therapies 

NutriFreez® D5 Salt-Based Cryopreservation is the optimal solution for the freezing and thawing of cells intended for cell therapies and clinical applications. 

  • Contains 5% DMSO 

  • Animal component-free 

  • Protein-free 

  • Ready-to-use solution, simple protocol 

  • Manufactured in accordance with applicable cGMP guidelines 

  • High viability, recovery rates, and performance, even for extremely sensitive cells 

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NutriStem® D5 Performance Data

High Viability of hMSCs from Various Sources

hMSCs derived from a variety of sources were frozen in NutriFreez® D5 Solution and thawed after one week.

High Proliferation and Normal Morphology of hMSCs

hMSCs derived from varied sources were frozen in NutriFreez® D5 Solution. Representative images (X100) taken 3 days post seeding show the proliferation results. Numbers represent viable cell counts.

Maintenance of hMSC Classical Marker Profile

hMSCs maintain classical profile of MSC markers with low percentage of hematopoietic contamination after being frozen in NutriFreez® D5 Salt-Based Cryopreservation Solution.

Maintenance of hMSC Multipotency

AT-MSCs were cryopreserved in NutriFreez® D5 Salt Based Solution, thawed at P2 and, for passage P3/P4, seeded and grown in adipogenic, osteogenic and chondrogenic MSCgo™ Differentiation Media.

Choose the Optimal Solution for Cold Storage

Enables sensitive cells to be stored for short terms and shipped without the need for repeated freeze-thaw cycles and multiple centrifugation steps while maintaining their stability.

  • Animal component-free
  • Protein-free
  • Ready-to-use
  • Manufactured in accordance with applicable cGMP guidelines

  • Drug Master File (DMF) available 

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NutriStor® Performance Data

High hMSC Viability and Recovery After Cold Storage

BM-MSC cells stored for 4 days in NutriStor® Cold Storage Solution at 4°C showed high viability and much higher recovery rates compared to cells stored in the leading competitor

High PBMC Viability and Recovery After Cold Storage

Fresh PBMCs stored in NutriStor® for 4 days, at 4°C, showed higher viability and significantly higher FE results than the cells stored in the competitor’s solution

Self-renewal Potential and Normal Morphology

MSC stored in NutriStor® Cold Storage Solution showed much higher colony-forming potential than Leading competitor. Morphology was similar in NutriStor® and PC wells

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Innovative Preservation Solutions For Cell Therapy

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Maximize the Potential of Cell Therapy Products with Biopreservation

Learn how you can enhance the stability of cell therapy products with innovative biopreservation solutions.

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Optimized and Efficient Cell Cryopreservation

Watch the webinar to learn how to master cryopreservation.

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Learn More About Biopreservation Solutions

Choosing Biopreservation Solutions for Research and Cell Therapy
  • Cell freezing media: Optimized for maximum cell viability and recovery, NutriFreez® protects a wide range of cells, including highly sensitive cell types such as primary cells, lymphocytes, T cells, and stem cells (hMSCs and hPSCs).
  • Cold-storage solution: optimized for the short-term storage of sensitive cells without the need for freezing. NutriStor® provides maximum stability at 2–8°C.

  • Unique, high-quality, serum-free, animal component-free, protein-free, fully defined formulations are ideal for research, cell banking, and therapeutic applications.
  • Salt-based solutions are available and appropriate for cell therapy applications.

  • Manufactured in accordance with applicable cGMP guidelines.
  • DMF available.
  • Referenced by more than 300 publications.
  • Customization and scale-up support is available.

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FAQs - Cell Freezing Media

Cells lose water during freezing – they shrink in size and quickly lose viability if they go below a minimum volume. Adding cryoprotectant agents like dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) mitigates these effects.

The medium should include an agent that can absorb water to prevent ice crystal formation during the slow freezing process and maintain cell viability.

Serum is a black box that contains components that are not necessary for cryopreservation, and might even harm cells during freezing and thawing. Animal component-free solutions help enhance viability and recovery, in addition to reproducibility and consistency.

DMSO is cytotoxic to cells. During cryopreservation, cells can only stay in DMSO diluted in solution to 10% and under.

You can freeze cells without DMSO as long as you have nontoxic protective agents with the same effect.

Most cell cultures can be stored for many years, if not indefinitely, at temperatures below –130°C. ATCC has recovered cells from cultures cryopreserved for more than 40 years.  The advantages of cryopreservation far outweigh the required investment in equipment and reagents. These advantages include:

  • Generating safety stocks to prevent losing a culture from equipment failures or contamination by microorganisms or other cell lines.
  • Saving time, energy, and materials that would be required to maintain cultures not in use.
  • Preserving cells with finite population doublings that will ultimately senesce.
  • Preventing phenotypic drift arising from genetic instability and/or selective pressure.
  • Creating a standard reagent that can be used for a series of experiments (source: ATCC guide for Animal Cell Culture).
  1. Centrifuge cells at 300 – 400 × g for 4 – 5 minutes to obtain a cell pellet. Then aseptically remove the supernatant.                                                                                        
  2. Suspend the pellet in cryopreservation solution at 2°C – 8°C. Mix thoroughly and transfer the suspension to a cryovial (e.g., 1.0 mL of suspension in a 1.5 mL cryovial).        
  3. Freeze the cells gradually (1°C – 2°C per minute) using a controlled rate freezing system and store the vials in liquid nitrogen (vapor phase). Alternately, place the vials in a freezing container and transfer to -80°C overnight. Transfer the cryovials into liquid nitrogen the following day – we recommend the vapor phase.                     
  4. Determine the efficiency of cryopreservation by thawing one vial after 24 hours of storage in liquid nitrogen.


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