Vitrification was first investigated and described in the 19th century. Luyet, the founder of cryobiology, first recognized the potential of achieving an ice-free, structurally arrested state for cryopreservation2,3. Subsequently, it was recognized that vitrification would be a better technique for the preservation of living cells and tissues than would solutions that crystallize and hence damage cells during cooling and warming.

Vitrification can be defined as a physical process by which a highly concentrated solution of cryoprotectant solidifies into a glassy vitrified state from the liquid phase by an extreme elevation in the viscosity while cooling at a low temperature. The solid which is called glass retains the normal molecular and ionic distribution of the liquid state and can be considered to be an extremely viscous supercooled liquid4.