Apparatus to preserve and identify biological samples at cryogenic conditions

Abstract

A container includes a vial, cap, and one or more wireless transponders secured to the cap, the vial or a jacket to store and identify samples of biological material at cryogenic temperatures (e.g., vitrified biological samples), for instance held by cryopreservation storage devices. A specimen holder may be extend from the cap. The vial and/or cap includes ports or vents. A carrier includes a box, thermal shunt, thermal insulation to store and identify arrays of containers that hold cryopreservation storage devices with samples of biological material at cryogenic temperatures. Various apparatus include wireless transponders positioned and oriented to enhance range, and allow interrogation while retained in a carrier. Various apparatus can maintain the biological material at or close to cryogenic temperatures for prolonged period of times after being removed from a cryogenic cooler, and can allow wireless inventorying while maintaining the biological samples at suitably cold temperatures.

1 . An apparatus to hold vials of biological materials and extend cryogenic conditions, wherein the vials each carry a respective wireless transponder, the apparatus comprising:
 a container having a top, a bottom, and at least one side wall, the bottom comprising a bottom wall having an inner facing surface and an outer facing surface, the at least one side wall having an inner facing surface and an outer facing surface, the inner facing surface of the bottom and the inner facing surface of the at least one side wall delineating an interior compartment having an interior compartment profile, the container having an opening at the top thereof;   a thermal shunt, the thermal shunt comprising a substrate comprising a metal and having a first major face and a second major face, the second major face opposed from the first major face across a thickness of the substrate, the substrate having an array of a plurality of throughholes that extend through the thickness of the substrate, each of the throughholes of the substrate shaped and sized to receive at least a portion of a respective vial therethrough, the substrate closely receivable in the interior compartment of the container;   a spacer, the spacer having an array of a plurality of throughholes that extend therethrough, each of the throughholes of the spacer shaped and sized to receive at least a portion of a respective vial therethrough; and   wherein, when the spacer and the thermal shunt are stacked in the interior compartment of the container, each of the throughholes of the spacer is axially aligned with a respective one of the throughholes of the thermal shunt, and when the spacer and the thermal shunt are stacked in the interior compartment of the container at least one of the bottom, the thermal shunt, or the spacer, alone or in any combination, positions the vials longitudinally to space the wireless transponders carried by the vials relatively above or relatively below the thermal shunt by a defined distance.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the vials each carry a respective wireless transponder proximate at least one of a top or a bottom of the vial, and at least one of the bottom of the container, the thermal shunt, or the spacer, alone or in any combination, positions the vials longitudinally to space the wireless transponders relatively above or relatively below the thermal shunt by a distance of at least 3 millimeters. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein at least one of the bottom of the container, the thermal shunt, or the spacer, alone or in any combination, positions the vials longitudinally to space a bottom of the vials within a defined distance of an exterior surface of the bottom. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 3  wherein at least one of the bottom of the container, the thermal shunt, or the spacer, alone or in any combination, positions the vials longitudinally to space a bottom of the vials within a distance of less than 20 mm or more preferably less than 15 mm of an exterior surface of the bottom. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the container includes a plurality of features that extend upward from the inner facing surface of the bottom of the container which spaces the thermal shunt from the outer facing surface of the bottom of the container. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the vials each carry at least one specimen, the at least one specimen located in a defined region along a respective length of the vials, and the thermal shunt is positioned such that the defined region of each vial is laterally surrounded by the thermal shunt when the vial is positioned in a respective one of the throughholes of the thermal shunt. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the substrate of the thermal shunt is a heat sink in the form of a block of non-ferrous metal. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the substrate of the thermal shunt is a heat sink in the form of a block of aluminum. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the substrate of the thermal shunt is a heat sink in the form of an aluminum plate. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the substrate of the thermal shunt is a heat sink in the form of a block of non-ferrous metal impregnated polymer. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the throughholes of the spacer and the thermal shunt are arranged in a 5 by 5 array. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the throughholes of the spacer and the thermal shunt are each circular. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein a combination of any of a thickness of the bottom of the container, the thermal shunt, and the spacer positions the vials longitudinally to space a bottom of the vials within a defined distance of an exterior surface of the bottom. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein a combination of any of a thickness of the bottom of the container, the thermal shunt, and the spacer positions the vials longitudinally to space a bottom of the vials within a distance of less than 20 mm or more preferably less than 15 mm of an exterior surface of the bottom. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a cover coupleable to the container to seal the opening in the top of the container while the spacer and the thermal shunt are stacked in the interior compartment of the container.   
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the container is comprised of an exterior shell and an inner insert, the exterior shell having an interior cavity and the inner insert received in the interior cavity of the exterior shell. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the at least one side wall of the container comprises a thermally insulative material and the apparatus further comprises a handle attached to the container. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the at least one side wall of the container includes a cavity that entraps a vacuum, inert gas or air between an inner portion and an outer portion of the at least one side wall of the container. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the container includes at least two side walls, the two side walls opposed to each other across a lateral dimension of the container, each of the two side walls having a respective aperture sized to be gripped from an exterior of the container. 
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising at least one of:
 a passive wireless transponder fixed to a portion of the container, the wireless transponder operable to withstand temperatures of approximately negative 150° C. and to subsequently or concurrently wireless transmit a unique identifier; and   a machine-readable symbol fixed to a portion of the container and which encodes a unique identifier.