Response: Adjustment of cryoprotectant exposure time to counteract reduced cooling rates

摘要

We acknowledge that the closed vitrification approach described by Vanderzwalmen et al. (2009) is different from the approach described in our paper (Stoop et al., 2012). We did not intend to claim similarity by citing their work, as we were well aware of the differences at the time of writing the manuscript. Therefore, the citation should not be interpreted as if we believe that the conclusions by Vanderzwalmen et al. are in line or supportive of our conclusions. Indeed, we cited the work by Vanderzwalmen et al. for exactly the opposite reason. As mentioned in their work, and cited in their recent correspondence (Vanderzwalmen, 2012), they adjusted the exposure time to the cryoprotec-tant solution in order to minimize the risk of intracellular ice crystal formation. However, our study demonstrates that excellent results can be achieved without these changes.