Researchers at MIT reported a method for preserving CAR-T immune cells that reduces use of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), a chemical preservative that normally must be removed before the cells are transfused. Their study appeared in Trends in Biotechnology, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology reported on August 19, 2026. The technique uses the sugars trehalose and sucrose, introduced into cells by electroporation, to protect them during freezing and thawing; a small amount of DMSO was still added, but not enough that it needed removal afterward, the researchers said.

In the study, cells preserved with sugars as the main cryoprotectant had higher survival rates after freezing and thawing than cells preserved with DMSO, for both CAR-T cells and mesenchymal stem cells. In mouse models, mice treated with CAR-T cells preserved by the new method had higher survival rates than mice treated with cells preserved by the conventional DMSO approach when used against non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and glioblastoma.

The MIT report says about 5 percent of U.S. hospitals can generate and deliver CAR-T cells. The researchers now hope to work with hospitals on whether the technique can be integrated into production and thawing processes, and said a small patient trial could follow if that work is successful. Vijay G. Sankaran of Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, who was not involved in the study, said further work would be needed to validate the results in clinical settings.