A micro electro-freezing chip used in the crystallization of aqueous solutions under AC electric field

It is well known that biomaterials contain quantities of water which is a polar dielectric, yielding polarization under electric field. It may affect the formation of ice crystal. Electric field has been brought into control the formation and growth of ice crystals to improve the efficiency of cryopreservation. This paper describes micro cross-comb electro-freezing chip that can be used in the crystallization experiments of aqueous solutions in the presence of AC electric field. The magnitude and distribution of electric field in micro electro-freezing chip were obtained by using finite element analysis. The result of simulation was quasi-uniform electric field. Furthermore, micro electro-freezing chips combined with microscope were used to observe the ice crystal of aqueous solution under AC electric field. According to the experimental result, the optimal parameters for electro-freezing can be found out.