Can Blood Withstand Absolute Zero Temperature?
- One of the things that make humans alive is the liquid called blood.[2]
- Whole blood is a mixture of cellular elements, colloids, and crystalloids.[2]
- Blood consists of red blood cells also known as erythrocytes which is responsible for transport and exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the lungs and other tissues.
- Researchers froze red blood cells in absolute zero temperature.
- Absolute zero temperature is equal to −273.15 degrees on the Celsius scale or −459.67 degrees on the Fahrenheit scale.
- Absolute zero is the temperature at which a thermodynamic system has the lowest energy.[3]
- Red blood cells were collected in anticoagulant citrate dextrose solution.
- The red blood cells were preserved by glycerolization and sealed in glass ampule bottles.
- The filled ampule bottles were frozen to -272.29 degrees in liquid helium under high vacuum.
- Biological tests were performed after thawing.
- The glycerol was removed from the red blood cells through three-stage dialysis.
- After the glycerol was removed, test showed that only 1 percent of the red blood cells were ruptured or destroyed.
- Intracellular potassium level was within the normal range.
- Potassium is required for normal cell function because of its role in maintaining intracellular fluid volume and transmembrane electrochemical gradients.[4]
- 2,3-Diphosphoglycerate (2,3-DPG) level was also within the normal range.
- 2,3-Diphosphoglycerate controls the movement of oxygen from red blood cells to body tissues.[5]
- ATP level was also within the normal range.
- ATP is known not only as an energy carrier but can also act as a signaling molecule in blood microcirculation.[6]
- ATP is released by red blood cells when they are exposed to stresses large enough to induce a sufficient shape deformation.[6]
Sources:
Cravalho, E. G., Huggins, C. E., Diller, K. R., & Watson, W. W. (1981). Blood freezing to nearly absolute zero temperature: -272.29 degrees C. Journal of biomechanical engineering, 103(1), 24–26. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.3138240
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4260297
[3] https://www.britannica.com/science/absolute-zero
[4] https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Potassium-HealthProfessional
[5] https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com
[6] https://www.cell.com/biophysj/fulltext/S0006-3495(18)31162-7
