Freeze-Drying and Cryopreservation of Bacteria

Freezing and freeze-drying techniques have become standard methods for the long-term maintenance of bacterial cultures. Both methods of preservation provide varying degrees of success with different species of bacteria, and neither technique results in 100% recovery of preserved cells (1). There is no universally applicable method for the successful preservation of all bacteria, and where it is vitally important that cultures are not lost, it is advisable to use both methods in parallel.