Freeze Drying: Past, Present, and Future

Benito Couriel

Abstract

In 1890 Altman dried pieces of frozen tissue by placing them in a vacuum desiccator at –20 °C. Since then the freeze drying technique has been constantly improved. In 1939 the freeze drying process was placed for the first time on an engineering basis, and 1940 saw the large-scale production of dried plasma for wartime use. The first book on freeze drying by Flosdorfin 1949 was followed by the first symposium on this subject held in London in 1952 and biennial courses initiated in 1958 by Rey in France. New advances were reported and stress was made to obtain uniformity and time reduction of the freeze drying cycles and a better understanding of the principles and basis which govern them. The ever increasing needs for freeze-dried products is demanding more basic and applied research in this technique and the future will no doubt see the development of equipment and systems which will allow freeze drying of a wide variety of products, in shorter cycles and at lower costs.

Received February 8, 1980.
Accepted May 17, 1980.

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