Of course always use another container with a dessicant, if you expose it to the freezer it will absorb water from it super quickly and become useless.
What do you mean by this? So I SHOULD use a dessicant, in the mason jar you say? That's what I'm worried about because I don't think Ice Drops bottles are 100% airtight, so I'm worried that having silica gel in the mason jar could possibly suck up the liquid from inside the vial. Here's a picture of an ice drops bottle...
I don't believe my vials are COMPLETELY airtight because they are in Ice Drops bottles... which are made of plastic with plastic tops. Definitely water tight, but I think plastic is porous... So I was thinking putting them in a mason jar would solve the problem of airtight-ness. The vials are like a little more than half full each, with a full one being 3ml. Can it be done with these types of bottles or does it need to be glass?
I want to make it last as long as possible, would you recommend freezing it? What do you mean the vial could break? You mean with force? Or like pressure in the freezer could break it?
I don't know, I really want to make it last but I don't know if it's worth the risk of putting in the freezer. From your post, it sounds like there are risks.
Condensation is not great though if the vial is empty for the most part and you get droplets on the inside that increase the volume of the liquid. You then have more liquid, but it's weaker (just diluted).
They are a little more than half full. So how likely is this to happen? Or would it only happen if I did something wrong?
Is it worth putting in the freezer, do you think? Or do the risks outweigh possible benefits? I mean how likely is it for my vial to break or for it to become diluted or condensated or for something else negative to happen, if I have it in an airtight mason jar and wait ~3 hours for it to thaw before opening? I would rather not do it if there's not a foolproof way for it to be done properly.
This sample is just too amazing for anything bad to happen to it, but I would really like to preserve it.