We are investigating the use of liposomes, which are synthetic, microscopic vesicles, for the intracellular delivery of trehalose into mammalian cells. This study focuses on the effects trehalose-containing liposomes improve the recovery and membrane quality of human RBCs following cryopreservation. Unilamellar liposomes consisting of a lipid bilayer composed of DPPC, PS and cholesterol (60:30:10 mol%) were synthesized using an extrusion method. Liposome-treated RBCs (l-RBCs) were resuspended in either physiological saline, 0.3M trehalose or liposome solution, then cooled with slow (0.95+/-0.02 degrees C/min), medium (73+/-3 degrees C/min) and fast (265+/-12 degrees C/min) cooling rates and storage in liquid nitrogen, followed by a 37 degrees C thawing step. RBC post-thaw quality was assessed using percent recovery, RBC morphology, PS and CD47 expression. Liposome treatment did not adversely affect the RBC membrane. Post-thaw recovery of l-RBCs was significantly higher (66%+/-5% vs 29%+/-4%) compared to control RBCs (c-RBC, p=0.003). Medium and high cooling rates resulted in significantly higher cell recovery compared to a slow cooling rate (p=0.039 and p=0.041, respectively). The recovery of l-RBCs frozen in liposome solution and trehalose solution was significantly higher than that of l-RBCs frozen in NaCl solution for all three cooling rates (p=0.021). Flow cytometry and morphology assessment showed that liposome treatment resulted in improved post-thaw membrane quality. There was no statistically significant difference in the post-thaw recovery between RBCs treated with liposomes containing trehalose in their aqueous core and RBCs treated with liposomes containing saline in their aqueous core (p=0.114). Liposome treatment significantly improves the recovery and membrane integrity of RBCs following low temperature exposure.