US 12,336,532 B2
Insulator for preventing container damage and rupture caused by freezing of aqueous solutions containing biological materials
Rui De Brito Estrela, Lisbon (PT); Andreia Filipa Silvestre Duarte, Sacavém (PT); and Pedro Gil Sena Rego, Lisbon (PT)
Assigned to SMARTFREEZ, LDA, Porto Salvo (PT)
Appl. No. 17/292,921
Filed by SMARTFREEZ, LDA, Porto Salvo (PT)
PCT Filed Nov. 12, 2019, PCT No. PCT/IB2019/059704
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date May 11, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/100028, PCT Pub. Date May 22, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 115152 (PT), filed on Nov. 12, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2022/0000097 A1, Jan. 6, 2022
Int. Cl. A61J 1/16 (2023.01); A01N 1/146 (2025.01)
CPC A01N 1/146 (2025.01) [A61J 1/165 (2013.01)] 10 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An ice-crust attenuator device for use when freezing or thawing an aqueous biological solution and for reducing and/or preventing ice-crust formation on the solution, comprising:
a plurality of separable portions each comprising an external wall and an internal wall, wherein each external wall and each internal wall comprises a thermal insulating material; and
a phase change material disposed in a cavity between the internal wall and the external wall of each separable portion,
wherein at least a portion of the internal wall of at least one of the separable portions forms a recess configured for receiving a container,
wherein a freezing temperature of the phase change material ranges from a temperature close to a freezing point of the aqueous biological solution to 10% above the freezing point of the aqueous biological solution, thereby reducing and/or preventing ice-crust formation on the liquid and air interface,
wherein the internal wall further comprises a moldable thermal insulating material,
wherein the moldable thermal insulating material of the internal wall is moldable to form an airtight seal over the container top,
wherein a total volume of the phase change material is not more than 50% of a volume of the aqueous biological solution,
wherein the thermal insulating material of the internal wall and the thermal insulating material of the external wall have thermal conductivities of less than 0.5 W m−1K−1,
wherein the thermal insulating material of the internal wall is different from the thermal insulating material of the external wall wherein the phase change material further comprises a nucleating agent selected from the group consisting of: silver iodide, lead iodide, and combinations thereof, and
wherein the plurality of separable portions comprise respective locking mechanisms adapted to join the plurality of separable portions to surround the container top.