No, at least for biotechnological protocols it may not be possible. Glycerol still remains the best cryoprotectant as it is not only cost effective (cheaper) but also a compatible solute (i.e. it does not generally interfere with any cellular functions). No one at this stage aware of impact(s) (negative or positive) of nanoparticles (even if modified with silica coating by the sonogel process). Moreover, they will be expensive (cost will depend on the chemical nature of nanoparticles and the protocol).
HiI Amit, I agree with P. Pardha. In order for cryoprotectants to be effective, they have to be small enough to permeate cells and retard the formation of ice crystals.
Only small molecules, like glycerol and DMSO, have been shown to accomplish this.
A nano particle is just 2 - 3atom arranged side by side which is too much smaller than glycerol(propane-1,2,3-triol). I do not know still the negative or positive impacts or it may be costly. there are lots of parameters to be optimized.
I am using trehalose which do not penetrate the membrane. It works well with boar spermatozoa but I don't know about other cells. It is cheap as well. NP sound expensive but might work.
Trehalose like mannitol, proline and glycinebetaine is a compatible solute and hence will not perturb cellular metabolism. Further, trehalose like sucrose is a disaccharide and non-reducing sugar. Yeasts and certain plants do accumulate trehalose as a compatible solute. However, it is more expensive than glycerol and I am not aware of many published papers where trehalose has been used as a cryoprotectant. Therefore, I still prefer glycerol.
The cryoprotectants used for the low temperature storage dehydrate the cells to prevent ice crystal formation within the cells which damage cell organeles and membrane. The cryoprotects could be external like sucrose or internal like glycerol. The successful cryopreservation will preserve the normal function of the cells. Other methods to preserve cells (like lyophilization, vitrification) have been tried.
Properties of nanoparticles vary depending on their origin, size and synthesis process. To get correct answer, well designed experiments are needed to find out whether use of these particles will improve the current methodology of cryopreservation or will lead to emergence of a new cryopreservation method. It is wrth trying.