US 12,239,127 B2
Thermal capacitors, systems, and methods for rapid freezing or heating of biological materials
Jonathan Cutting, Heber City, UT (US); and Alexander Kaiser, Lancaster, NY (US)
Assigned to Sartorius Stedim North America Inc., Bohemia, NY (US)
Filed by Sartorius Stedim North America Inc., Bohemia, NY (US)
Filed on Jul. 28, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/386,828.
Prior Publication US 2023/0032121 A1, Feb. 2, 2023
Int. Cl. A01N 1/02 (2006.01)
CPC A01N 1/0257 (2013.01) 19 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A rapid freezing system comprising:
a rack; and
a plurality of thermal capacitors, each one of said thermal capacitors slidably mounted within the rack such that media to be frozen is receivable between adjacent thermal capacitors, each thermal capacitor comprising:
a shell including a first major surface configured to contact a container including media to be frozen, defining a cavity; and
a phase-change material (PCM) disposed within the cavity, the PCM having a transition temperature in a range of −80 degrees Celsius to −50 degrees Celsius, each thermal capacitor configured to rapidly freeze media from room temperature to at least −50 degrees Celsius at a rate of at least 1 degree Celsius per minute with the container in contact with the shell.