A liquid nitrogen dry shipper is a specialist cryogenic transport container designed to carry biological specimens at liquid nitrogen temperatures without any free liquid nitrogen present inside the unit. An internal absorbent material is saturated with liquid nitrogen before use and then releases that nitrogen as cold vapour during transit, maintaining cryogenic temperatures throughout the journey without any liquid pooling inside the container.
This design solves a fundamental problem with conventional liquid nitrogen dewars when used for transport. A standard dewar holds free liquid nitrogen, which creates a spillage and pressure risk during movement. Airlines prohibit the carriage of free liquid nitrogen on aircraft, which means standard dewars cannot be used for air freight of biological specimens. The dry shipper contains no free liquid and is classified by IATA as a non-regulated item when properly prepared, allowing biological specimens to be shipped by air without the complex dangerous goods certification required for liquid nitrogen itself.
Dry shippers are used extensively across clinical and scientific applications. In human IVF, embryos and oocytes are transported between fertility clinics using dry shippers, particularly where patients access services at a satellite clinic or where specimens need to move between a clinical site and a genetics laboratory for preimplantation genetic testing. In veterinary reproductive medicine, dry shippers are used to receive semen from AI centres and dispatch embryos to recipient herds.
Dry shippers have a defined operational hold time, typically between 5 and 14 days depending on the model and ambient conditions. Discover our certified range of liquid nitrogen dry shippers including the CryoStork V2, CryoStork V4, and CryoStork V10 for safe, compliant biological specimen transport by road and air.
