Scott Masiella
Ultra-Low Cold Storage Portfolio Manager, Trane Technologies Life Science Solutions
Forced-air convection technology and active refrigerant management enable stable, energy-efficient, chamber cooling at the desired and required temperature, protecting sensitive materials within life science research.
The quality and viability of stored materials and substances are negatively impacted by temperature excursions, transient warming and micro-warmups, which alter the crystal structure and damage cell membranes. Within pharmaceutical bioprocessing, this can compromise experimental integrity, delay project timelines and lead to inconsistency.
Sample safety risks persist
Scott Masiella, Ultra-Low Cold Storage Portfolio Manager at Trane Technologies Life Science Solutions, explains: “Even brief temperature fluctuations can damage temperature-sensitive materials by altering crystal structures, causing osmotic stress and disrupting cell membranes, ultimately compromising sample viability.”
Traditional cold-wall ULT (ultra-low temperature) freezers rely on natural convection to remove heat, making them vulnerable to temperature fluctuations in high-access environments. Frequent door openings disrupt the stable cold air circulation, causing uneven temperatures that can damage samples, which is particularly problematic when accessing samples stored on upper shelves.
The system has been proven to allow
multiple door openings per hour without
gradual warming of the chamber.
Forced-air convection technology
Cold storage innovations, like FARRAR® CYCLONETM, can help to effectively manage desired storage temperature in active and frequently accessed use cases within large molecule drug discovery, manufacturing and distribution to safeguard valuable materials.
“Its forced-air convection system forcibly mixes conditioned air into a chamber to quickly achieve the desired temperature, protecting sensitive materials and improving efficiency at every stage, from freezing to storage,” explains Masiella. “The system has been proven to allow multiple door openings per hour without gradual warming of the chamber, instilling confidence that the drug candidate has its full efficacy.”
FARRAR CYCLONE provides superior chamber uniformity and temperature recovery from door openings compared to traditional cold wall-based ULTs, which were originally designed for long-term storage and are best suited to biorepositories where samples are preserved for months with limited access.
Energy-efficient cooling
CYCLONE optimises ultra-low temperature stability and energy efficiency with variable speed compressors, circulation fans, and smart refrigerant control – providing the right amount of cooling capacity when needed, unlike fixed cooling, always-on traditional ULTs.
“Sustainability is of huge importance to our customers. CYCLONE not only delivers the performance their engineers and operations teams demand, but it meets the sustainability goals they look for,” says Masiella. “Users can reduce their ULT fleet using CYCLONE while still maintaining the same capacity they have today.”
Working with a wide range of clients, from university researchers and biotech engineers to operations leaders managing freezing and storage, logistics teams at CROs and pharma companies handling drug substances and clinical candidates, FARRAR delivers reliable temperature-controlled solutions that protect sensitive materials throughout the entire supply chain.
