Effects of long-term deep freezing on human femoral cartilage: differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) analysis and histopathological evaluations

Results from our previous study proved that differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) is a reliable method for qualitative evaluation of morphological changes in human cartilage samples caused by cryopreservation and storage time correlates with graft quality [1, 2]. Our current aim was to specify/characterise the effects of deep-freezing on hyaline cartilage in conjunction with length of storage time. Detailed analysis included DSC and histological measurements which showed distinctive differences. Based on our histological examinations, we could not confirm significant association between cartilage destruction and long-time storage, but the DSC results exhibited a definite change in thermal parameters after the 6th week cryopreservation. A modified and more detailed analysis would be useful to determine the effects of deep-freezing.