A high-throughput strategy to controlled thawing of cryopreserved fish semen for large-scale laboratory fertilization trials - a simulation approach

Cryopreservation of fish semen is a modern technology. In the present study a simulation with SolidWorks FlowSimulation 2014 was conducted to determine if automated, simultaneous thawing of a large number of straws is possible. It was simulated with straws that were taken out of the liquid nitrogen container and clamped into semicircular indentations between two metal blocks (=thawing block). Cooling coils, allowing an exact temperature control, crossed the blocks. Different thawing conditions were simulated and compared with thawing rates obtained in a water bath. Comparison of thawing rates was by calculating the area under curve (AUC) (mathematically known as integral), as this computation is very useful for comparing changes over a time interval. AUCs obtained by waterbath thawing at 25°C differed by only 1.84% from AUCs obtained by thawing simulations in the thawing block. These data represent the first promising results that automated thawing of multiple straws can be handled.