PHCbi ULT Freezers

PHCbi has been a leading force in the development of Ultra Low Temperature (ULT) freezers since 1991, when it introduced the world’s first ULT freezer capable of maintaining temperatures below -150°C, in response to a growing demand for cryopreservation solutions following medical and scientific advances in biotechnology and genetics.

Today its wide range of ULT freezers  delivering temperatures of between -40°C and -150°C, meets a wide range of medical, clinical, laboratory and research needs including storage of vaccines and biomedical samples. All incorporate advanced technologies, such as energy efficient cascade cooling, inverter technology, TwinGuard Dual Cooling System, patented VIP Vacuum Insulation Panels, hydrocarbon refrigerants, and hybrid water cooling.

ULT Freezer Applications

Ultra-cold storage is key to success in many bioscience applications that involve molecules such as proteins that become denatured at normal temperatures. Such samples may be irreplaceable and therefore security of cryogenic storage is a primary concern.

In contrast with a regular commercial freezer (temperature range -30°C to 0°C), PHCbi’s ULT freezers offer high security storage of biomedical samples at temperatures as low as -86°C, or down to -150°C. For cryogenic storage of materials such as umbilical cord blood as a source of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, stem cells, adipose tissues, epithelial cells, bone marrow, mesenchymal stromal cells (MScs), semen and ovarian tissue for reproductive uses, and plant seeds/shoots for breeding.

The -86°C ranges of ULT Freezers are essential for clinical and scientific applications that include storage of temperature sensitive samples. These include therapeutics and biospecimens, samples that need to retain viability such as stem cells, engineered tissue, organs, vaccines, cancer cells or fibroblasts, longitudinal study samples, medical research samples, valuable pharmaceutical products, clinical trial samples, and pathogenic samples within high security laboratories.

PHCbi ULT Freezer Technologies

The technologies, materials and refrigerants incorporated in PHCbi ULT and Cryogenic freezers are products of the company’s unrivalled expertise in the field. They emphasize very high thermal insulation efficiency in cabinet construction, advanced compressor and cooling system designs to maintain temperature uniformity and security along with rapid recovery from door openings, ease-of-use and maintenance, along with HSE-oriented goals such as operator safety, minimal environmental footprint and energy efficiency.

PHCbi technologies found across the ULT ranges include:

• Energy efficient cascade cooling systems to create optimum heat exchange pathways that increases overall cooling performance for greater energy efficiency, reduced compressor stress and greater overall system reliability.
• Inverter technology allows compressor to operate at different speeds depending on the ambient and load conditions to reduce energy consumption and minimize start-up stresses.
• TwinGuard Dual Cooling System: two independent refrigeration systems in the TwinGuard range ULT freezers with intelligent switching between circuits ensure ultimately reliable and exceptionally stable -86˚C ULT environments.
• Patented VIP Vacuum Insulation Panels: thin-wall composite high thermal efficiency construction that yields more interior storage volume for given cabinet dimensions and therefore up to 30% more storage capacity for on the same footprint as a conventional freezer.
• Natural hydrocarbon refrigerants: not only more environmentally friendly but also provide more energy efficient cooling due to their high latent heat of evaporation.
• Hybrid Water Cooling: This option allows the freezer to use a chilled water circuit to extract the generated heat from the condenser as an alternative to traditional air-cooling with a fan motor. Hybrid water cooled freezers use significantly less electrical energy, exhibit improved temperature stability and also reduce heat dissipation into the room.

PHCbi ULT Freezer ranges

Overall, ULT Freezers need to meet rigorous standards and comply with all key certifications. To reach the required temperatures and maintain a uniform environment, they require powerful freezing capacity with specialized protective insulation; rapid temperature recovery; highly effective user-interfaces, including doors, monitoring systems, and alarms; and clear and specific user protocols along with back-up systems for storage security.

The PHCbi ULT freezer range comprises six main product groups that are all well-established and well-respected products in the world of life sciences renowned for their accuracy, reliability, and stability.  Each product range has its own distinctive selection of technologies, materials and features.

Cryogenic ULT freezers (-150°C)

MDF-1156-PE (128 liters of storage capacity) and MDF-C2156VAN-PE (231 liters) are chest-format units that employ specially designed high efficiency compressor and cascade refrigeration system to achieve stable long term ultra-low temperatures down to -152^oC.

TwinGuard ULT Freezers (-86°C)

The vertical cabinet MDF-DU302VX-PE (360 liters), MDF-DU502VX-PE (528 liters), MDF-DU702VX-PE (729 liters) along with the chest format MDF-DC500VX-PE (575 liters) and MDF-DC700VX-PE (715 liters) all meet industry needs for safe, long-term storage for the most high-valued materials with two independent refrigeration systems, combined with optional liquid CO2 back-up systems and VIP PLUS construction to ensure unmatched long term storage security.  The EZlatch feature on the upright units makes access to stored samples even easier, while the color LCD touch panel controls allows easy operation, even with gloved hands.

VIP ECO & VIP ECO SMART ULT Freezers (-86°C)

VIP ECO ULT Freezers achieve temperatures of -86°C while providing an energy efficient, environmentally friendly ULT storage solution. PHCbi’s ECO lines feature advanced hydrocarbon refrigerant technology to provide energy-efficient and environmentally friendly cold storage equipment options. The addition of outstanding VIP insulation has allowed ECO efficiencies to be applied to ultra-low temperature freezers. Units in this range include the MDF-DC102VH-PE (84 liters) and MDF-DC202VH-PE (180 liters) chest freezers, along with three upright models; MDF-DU502VH-PE (528 liters), MDF-DU702VH-PE (729 liters), and MDF-DU901VHL-PE (845 liters). This range has recently been expanded with the addition of two VIP ECO SMART upright units, with the lowest energy consumption of their capacity range, MDF-DU503VH-PE (528 liters) and MDF-DU703VH-PE (729 liters). These upright units have enhanced security controls with keypad, proximity card, password or facial recognition access, along with Inverter driven compressors with SMART control using PHCbi developed algorithms to ensure superior uniformity by running compressors at slower speeds under steady state conditions.

FrostLess ULT Freezers (-86°C)

The new 525-liter MDF-DU500ZH-PE and 725-liter MDF-DU700ZH-upright freezers units incorporate natural hydrocarbon refrigerants and inverter compressor technology along with advanced door construction and heated frames to almost eliminate frost build-up on the inner doors. This significantly reduces time and labor involved in periodic defrosting.

PRO ULT Freezers (-86°C)

PHCbi’s 333-liter PRO ECO -MDF-DU300H-PE 86°C Ultra-low Freezer uses Natural Refrigerants, Heat Exchanger Design, Automatic Compressor Cycling and Microprocessor control to minimize energy consumption, reduce environmental impact and save money. Combined with  Class IIa medical device certification, this makes it an ideal choice for full compliance secure storage of valuable research and clinical samples, as well as long-term preservation of biologicals, blood components and various cell lines.

Hybrid Water Cooled Freezers

Hybrid Water Cooled Freezers can cool to -86ºC or the cryogenic version to -150ºC and feature hybrid water cooled technology that together with VIP insulation, improves compressor efficiency. The three units in the Hybrid Range are the MDF-DU502VHW-PE (528 liters) and MDF-DU702VHW-PE (729 liters), along with the 231-liter MDF-C2156VANW-PE chest freezer.

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