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Title: Analysis and modeling of coolants and coolers for specimen transportation

Journal Article · · PLoS ONE
ORCiD logo [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1]
  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, GA (United States)
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Maintaining cold chain while transporting medical supplies and samples is difficult in remote settings. Failure to maintain temperature requirements can lead to degraded sample quality and inaccuracies in sample analysis. We performed a systematic analysis on different types of transport coolers (polystyrene foam, injection-molded, and rotational molded) and transport coolants (ice, cold packs, frozen water bottles) frequently in use in many countries. Polystyrene foam coolers stayed below our temperature threshold (6°C) longer than almost all other types of coolers, but were not durable. Injection-molded coolers were durable, but warmed to 6°C the quickest. Rotational molded coolers were able to keep temperatures below our threshold for 24 hours longer than injection molded coolers and were highly durable. Coolant systems were evaluated in terms of cost and their ability to maintain cold temperatures. Long lasting commercial cold packs were found to be less cost effective and were below freezing for the majority of the testing period. Frozen plastic water bottles were found to be a reusable and economical choice for coolant and were only below freezing briefly. Finally, we modeled the coolers performance at maintaining internal temperatures below 6°C and built a highly accurate linear model to predict how long a cooler will remain below 6°C. We believe this data may be useful in the planning and design of specimen transportation systems in the field, particularly in remote or resource limited settings.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0014664
OSTI ID:
1615144
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1904896
Journal Information:
PLoS ONE, Vol. 15, Issue 4; ISSN 1932-6203
Publisher:
Public Library of ScienceCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 2 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (11)

Temperature-sensitive Medications in Interfacility Transport: The Ice Pack Myth journal November 2017
Short-Term Stability of Pathogen-Specific Nucleic Acid Targets in Clinical Samples journal October 2012
Rapid Establishment of a Cold Chain Capacity of –60°C or Colder for the STRIVE Ebola Vaccine Trial During the Ebola Outbreak in Sierra Leone journal May 2018
Improved Specimen-Referral System and Increased Access to Quality Laboratory Services in Ethiopia: The Role of the Public-Private Partnership journal March 2016
Evaluation of Nucleic Acid Stabilization Products for Ambient Temperature Shipping and Storage of Viral RNA and Antibody in a Dried Whole Blood Format journal July 2015
Effects of carcase decomposition on rabies virus infectivity and detection journal October 2014
The effect of storage temperature fluctuations on the stability of biochemical analytes in blood serum journal January 2017
Using solar-powered refrigeration for vaccine storage where other sources of reliable electricity are inadequate or costly journal December 2013
An Introduction to Statistical Learning book January 2013
Cold-Chain Adaptability During Introduction of Inactivated Polio Vaccine in Bangladesh, 2015 journal July 2017
Is freezing in the vaccine cold chain an ongoing issue? A literature review journal April 2017

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60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES
foams
polystyrene
transportation
forecasting
slurries
cost-effectiveness analysis
time measurement
prisms