What is vitrification?
Vitrification is the process by which a liquid becomes a solid without forming ice crystals. In cryopreservation, this means cooling biological tissue to a glass-like state where molecular motion is almost completely stopped, while maintaining the physical structure of cells.
The term comes from the Latin vitrum, meaning “glass.” The result of successful vitrification is not a frozen body, but a solid biological glass, a state that prevents further decay.
Why freezing is destructive
When water freezes, it forms sharp crystals that expand and rupture cell membranes, blood vessels, and microscopic structures within tissues. In the brain, where identity and memory depend on precise neural connections, this damage is catastrophic.
Ordinary freezing transforms living systems into ice; vitrification aims to prevent ice from forming altogether. The goal is to stop decay while keeping the physical architecture of the tissue intact.
How vitrification works
- Cryoprotectant perfusion: After legal death, circulation is maintained for a short period while a cryoprotective solution replaces the water in the body’s cells. These cryoprotectants reduce freezing point and prevent ice nucleation.
- Rapid cooling: The body or brain is then cooled in a controlled process until it reaches the glass-transition temperature (around –120 °C to –135 °C). At this point, tissues solidify without crystallizing.
- Long-term storage: Once vitrified, the patient is immersed in liquid nitrogen at –196 °C. At this temperature, molecular motion effectively ceases, halting decay for as long as the environment remains stable.
What vitrification achieves
Prevents ice crystal formation.
- Preserves cellular and structural integrity.
- Greatly slows all chemical and biological reactions.
- Maintains the information pattern of tissues - especially in the brain - which may allow future repair and recovery.
Vitrification does not restore life, reverse aging, or guarantee revival. It simply preserves the physical substrate of the organism until repair technologies exist.
Cryopreservation and vitrification
Cryopreservation relies entirely on vitrification. Without it, the body would be destroyed by freezing damage before any future technology could intervene.
Current cryonics organizations use vitrification for both whole-body and brain-only preservation. The procedure is designed to maintain biological information, not biological activity. In this context, a cryopreserved person is considered a patient in long-term medical suspension, not a corpse.
