Roles of thermodynamic state and molecular mobility in biopreservation

In a very broad sense, preservation can be defined as the process of reversibly arresting the biochemical reactions and therefore the metabolism of an organism (in a state of suspended animation [1]) in order to sustain function after a “prolonged” exposure to otherwise lethal conditions. The lethal conditions are created by the inadequacy of the surrounding medium in supplying nutrients and removing by-products, exposure to draught, or the extremes of temperature that would disturb the biochemical processes vital to the organism.