History of the Lyophilization Technique

The freeze-drying process was applied for first time in 1890 by the Leipzig anatomist Altmann. He froze samples of tissue required for microscopic investigations at very low temperatures. Then, the tissues were placed in a desiccator filled with sulfuric acid and cooled on the outside. The air was evacuated while the tissues remained frozen and the water yielded to the sulfuric acid by sublimation. In this way, Altmann obtained anhydrous tissue preparations, without any shrinkage of the cells. 

In 1939 the term lyophile was used for the first time by Reichel, Masucci, and Boye for characterization of products obtained by this particular process of dehydration. 

Up to World War II, the lyophilization technique was used only on a laboratory scale. The sudden increase of demands in freeze-dried blood plasma resulted in its application on an industrial scale. In the first post-war years, the freeze-drying method was applied to various antibiotics, and very quickly became a valuable method of preserving medicinal products. 

In the years that have passed, a remarkable progress on both technical and physical aspects of freeze-drying was performed, and safe and reproducible methods required for industrial application have been established. 

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