Freeze spray
Freeze spray (cold spray or vapocoolant) is a type of
Some of them are highly flammable.[1] Several other types of compressed gas sprays also have a freezing effect: for example, tetrafluoroethane, gas dusters, liquid nitrogen, and carbon dioxide fire extinguishers.
Applications
Industrial
For spot-cooling of electronic components during troubleshooting, dimethyl ether or tetrafluoroethane may be used.[2]
Freeze sprays are also used to contract metal for assembly or disassembly of interference fit parts.[citation needed]
The extreme temperature can cause
Medical
In medical applications, spray cans containing dimethyl ether
Chloroethane may be used as a topical pain reliever, and an alternative to ice pack therapy to reduce inflammation and swelling. Since its boiling point is well above the freezing point of water, there is less risk of freezing the skin, though it can still be dangerous if misused. It may be used to treat sports injuries, where it is sometimes known as ice spray or magic spray.[5]
Freeze sprays are also utilized in frozen section biopsies to rapidly cool or freeze small tissue samples at the microtome or cryostat.[6]
Other
Freeze spray has been shown useful for the field marking of animals; for example marking the tails of monkeys. Research is continuing to help control the application dosage and time to minimize permanent damage to the animals.[7]
See also
References
- ^ Shadgan B, Med S, Pakravan AH, Hoens A, Reid WD. Subcutaneous and Intramuscular Hemodynamics and Oxygenation After Cold-Spray Application as Monitored by Near-Infrared Spectroscopy. J Athl Train. 2015;50(8):800-805. doi:10.4085/1062-6050-50.6.02
- ^ Knight KL, Brucker JB, Stoneman PD, Rubley MD. Muscle injury management with cryotherapy. Athl Ther Today. 2000;5(4):26–30.
- Sealed Air Corp.
- ^ "A Pharmacist's Guide to OTC Therapy: OTC Treatments for Warts". July 2006. Archived from the original on 2010-06-17. Retrieved 2017-08-26.
- ^ Widman, Miriam (June 16, 2015). "'Magic' freeze sprays can do deep damage". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
- ^ BBC Biochemical, "Histological Freezing Spray," S91 datasheet, March 2017. https://www.statlab.com/pdfs/sds/Histological_Freezing_Spray_Safety_Data_Sheet.pdf
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