Supercooling and vitrification of aqueous glycerol solutions at normal and high pressures

[Display omitted] ► Homogeneous ice nucleation temperatures were measured at high pressures. ► Applied pressure enhances supercooling and vitrification of a glycerol solution. ► Glass transition temperature was measured as a function of pressure. The supercooling and vitrification of aqueous glycerol solutions was studied at high pressures. Homogeneous ice nucleation temperatures (TH) were obtained for aqueous glycerol solutions of R=50, 30, 20, 12, and 10 (R: moles of water/moles of glycerol) up to 300MPa. The R=20 glycerol solution formed a glass above 200MPa at a cooling rate of 200°C/min, indicating that pressure enhances glass-formation of aqueous glycerol solutions. The (dTg/dP) values were obtained for vitrified aqueous glycerol solutions of R=3, 5, 10, and 20. These data can be used for the development of cryo-preservation liquids for living cells at high pressures.