We have a large programme in chemical cryobiology – new chemical tools to help us store and transport biological material, protecting them from cold damage during cryopreservation. Our latest work, in collaboration with Cytiva and Dr Sagona (Warwick) asks the question of ‘what is needed for a polymer to be a good cryoprotectant for bacteriophage’? Phage are emerging antimicrobial agents, and key components of complex microbiome communities, but there has been little research in how to store them. We show in this work, that almost any hydrophilic polymer protects a range of phage during freezing at just 10 mg/mL, which is lower than convention glycerol-mediated freezing. These observations will help us design new protocals and tools to bank viruses. Read the paper here
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