Several cryopreservation protocols have been successfully reported for T-cells. However, the best protocol of cryopreservation for your T-cell needs to be modified by your own testing since there are a variety of factors for successful cell freezing (please refer to Question #7 and #8 for detailed information). For cryoprotectant, many authors have used 5-10% DMSO with Fetal Calf Serum (FCS) or Human Serum Albumin (HAS), and they emphasized an appropriate cooling rate (-1°C per minute or slower) in T-cells(1,2,3). Please note that “There are reports on loss of response and reduced T-cell functions in frozen cells compared to freshly isolated cells and loss of antigen recognition of T-cells that increases with prolongation of freezing time”(4).
(1) https://www.pparesearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/CPC__WhitePaper.pdf
(2) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-39957-x
(3) https://cvi.asm.org/content/16/8/1176
(4) https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3109/0284186X.2012.737020