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Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) is a robust model organism in cell biology, physiology, pharmacology, and toxicology. It is widely recognized for its short lifespan (about 30 days), rapid life cycle, and genetic similarities to mammals. Known for their utility in lifespan research, compounds identified in C. elegans studies have shown lifespan-extending effects in higher organisms, making them invaluable for aging research. Recent work has highlighted the importance of food source conditions, specifically whether C. elegans is fed live or dead Escherichia coli (E. coli) OP50, and solvents like dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) in evaluating compound efficacy and organismal health. In this study, we employed C. elegans health lifespan auto-monitoring system (C-HAS), an automated imaging technology capable of objectively analyzing lifespan and healthspan by tracking movement patterns in real-time. Our results reveal that C. elegans fed dead bacteria, specifically heat-killed (HK) and freeze-dried (Fd) E. coli, display extended lifespan and healthspan compared to those fed live bacteria, reducing the proportion of short-lived, unhealthy nematodes. Moreover, 0.1 % DMSO treatment, a concentration previously reported as not affecting nematode longevity, notably shortens both lifespan and healthspan in C. elegans under dead bacterial conditions, with similar negative effects observed across different dead bacteria types. These findings highlight the importance of considering bacterial food state and DMSO presence when conducting lifespan and healthspan studies in C. elegans. This work provides foundational insights into how specific experimental conditions impact the health quality of C. elegans, advancing our understanding of environmental influences on organismal aging., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

To promote the recovery of cells that undergo intracellular ice formation (IIF), it is imperative that the recrystallization of intracellular ice is minimized. Hepatocytes are more prone to IIF than most mammalian cells, and thus we assessed the ability of novel small molecule carbohydrate-based ice recrystallization inhibitors (IRIs) to permeate and function within hepatocytes. HepG2 monolayers were treated with N-(4-chlorophenyl)-d-gluconamide (IRI 1), N-(2-fluorophenyl)-d-gluconamide (IRI 2), or para-methoxyphenyl-β-D-glycoside (IRI 3) and fluorescent cryomicroscopy was used for real time visualization of intracellular ice recrystallization. Both IRI 2 and IRI 3 reduced rates of intracellular recrystallization, whereas IRI 1 did not. IRI 2 and IRI 3, however, demonstrated a marked reduction in efficiency in the presence of the most frequently used permeating cryoprotectants (CPAs): glycerol, propylene glycol (PG), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), and ethylene glycol (EG). Nevertheless, IRI 3 reduced rates of intracellular recrystallization relative to CPA-only controls in the presence of glycerol, PG, and DMSO. Interestingly, IRI preparation in trehalose, a commonly used non-permeating CPA, did not impact the activity of IRI 3. However, trehalose did increase the activity of IRI 1 while decreasing that of IRI 2. While this study suggests that each of these compounds could prove relevant in hepatocyte cryopreservation protocols where IIF would be prominent, CPA-mediated modulation of intracellular IRI activity is apparent and warrants further investigation., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Jason Acker is a co-founder of PanTHERA CryoSolutions, a company which manufactures ice recrystallization inhibitors., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

DMSO is a very common solvent for hydrophobic chemicals that may pose a threat to aquatic organisms. Ectoine (ECT) is a protective amino acid produced by various strains of halophilic bacteria with high potential to alleviate detrimental effects induced by environmental stressors. This amino acid is used in many cosmetics and pharmaceuticals may enter aquatic ecosystems interacting with ions and macromolecules. Little is known on the effects of DMSO and its interaction with ECT on behavioral, physiological and biochemical endpoints of aquatic invertebrates. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to determine protective effects of DMSO alone and in the combination with ECT on hopping frequency, swimming speed, heart rate, thoracic limb activity, catalase activity and NOx level in an animal model, Daphnia magna subjected to 0.1% and 1% DMSO alone and during combinatorial exposure to ECT (0-25 mg/L) and DMSO for 24 h and 48 h. The results showed that swimming speed, heart rate and thoracic limb activity were inhibited by both 0.1% and 1% DMSO alone however alleviating effects were observed in the combination DMSO + ECT. Thoracic limb activity was higher in the animals exposed to both solutions of DMSO alone, however the parameter was more stimulated at DMSO + ECT. The results suggest that DMSO alone may alter Daphnia behavior and physiological parameters, therefore use of the control group of non-treated animals with DMSO alone would be recommended to avoid data misinterpretation., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is one of the most versatile solvents in biological science, therefore it is frequently used as a solvent in biological studies and as a vehicle for drug therapy. DMSO readily penetrates, diffuses through biological membranes and ipso facto increases fluidity of liposomal membranes modelling stratum corneum. Thermal injury is associated with the appearance of lipid peroxidation products in the burned skin. The influence of DMSO on protein structure and stability is concentration and temperature dependant. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of DMSO on human burn wounds and examine the interactions between DMSO and skin surface. The real problem in burn treatment is hypoalbuminemia. At the level of the laboratory studies there was an attempt at answering the question of whether the DMSO will modify the standard serum solution. In the case of the incubation of skin fragments in 1%-100% DMSO, the following findings were reported: modification of the serum, appearance of low molecular weight oligomer bands, disappearance of albumin bands or reconstruction of native serum bands during incubation in antioxidant solutions. The result of the modification is also the exposure of FTIR 1603 and 1046cm -1 bands observed in frozen serum solutions. In the case of modification of the burned skin by DMSO solutions or antioxidants - frequency shifts, an increase in the intensity of amide I band as well as the appearance of the 1601cm -1 band can be specific biomarkers of the tissue regeneration process. In this study the areas 1780-1580cm -1 and 1418-1250cm -1 on the Raman spectra are particularly rich in spectral information., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

α-Cobratoxin (CTX) is a large peptide (71 amino acids) with strong analgesic effect and may be misused in sports such as horse racing. To prevent such misuse, a sensitive method is required for detection and confirmation of the toxin in equine samples. CTX was extracted from equine plasma using an optimized mixed-mode solid-phase extraction (SPE) procedure. Extracted CTX was reduced with dithiothreitol and alkylated with iodoacetamide, and then was digested by trypsin at 56°C for 30min. The digest was analysed by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), and tryptic peptides T2 ( 3 CFITPDITSK 12 ) and T4 ( 24 TWCDAFCSIR 33 ) were monitored for detection and confirmation of CTX. The limit of detection (LOD) was 0.05ng/mL for CTX in plasma, and the limit of confirmation (LOC) 0.2ng/mL. Unlike small peptides consisting of the 20 canonical amino acids, CTX was stable in equine plasma at ambient temperature for at least 24h. The developed analytical method was successfully applied to analysis of incurred plasma samples; CTX was detected in plasma collected 15min through 36h post subcutaneous administration of CTX (2.0mg dose) to a research horse, and confirmed 30min through 24h. Additionally, an approach named "reliable targeted SEQUEST search" has been proposed for assessing the specificity of T2 at product ion spectrum level for confirmation of CTX. T2 is uniquely specific for CTX, as evaluated with this approach and BLAST search. Furthermore, the effect of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as a mobile phase additive on electrospray (ESI) response of T2 and T4, background noise level and signal to noise ratio (S/N) was examined; DMSO increased signal intensity of T2 and T4 by a factor of less than 2. It is the first report that DMSO raised background noise level and did not improve S/N for the peptides, to the authors' knowledge. The developed analytical method may be applicable for analysis of CTX in plasma from other species such as greyhound dogs or even human beings., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Recently, electrophysiological activity has been effectively measured in human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) to predict drug-induced arrhythmia. Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and ethanol have been used as diluting agents in many experiments. However, the maximum DMSO and ethanol concentrations that can be effectively used in the measurement of electrophysiological parameters in hiPSC-CMs-based patch clamp and multi-electrode array (MEA) have not been fully elucidated., Methods: We investigated the effects of varying concentrations of DMSO and ethanol used as diluting agents on several electrophysiological parameters in hiPSC-CMs using patch clamp and MEA., Results: Both DMSO and ethanol at concentrations>1% in external solution resulted in osmolality >400mOsmol/kg, but pH was not affected by either agent. Neither DMSO nor ethanol led to cell death at the concentrations examined. However, resting membrane potential, action potential amplitude, action potential duration at 90% and 40%, and corrected field potential duration were decreased significantly at 1% ethanol concentration. DMSO at 1% also significantly decreased the sodium spike amplitude. In addition, the waveform of action potential and field potential was recorded as irregular at 3% concentrations of both DMSO and ethanol. Concentrations of up to 0.3% of either agent did not affect osmolality, pH, cell death, or electrophysiological parameters in hiPSC-CMs., Discussion: Our findings suggest that 0.3% is the maximum concentration at which DMSO or ethanol should be used for dilution purposes in hiPSC-CMs-based patch clamp and MEA., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Acanthamoeba castellanii is the causative agent of blinding keratitis. Though reported in non-contact lens wearers, it is most frequently associated with improper use of contact lens. For contact lens wearers, amoebae attachment to the lens is a critical first step, followed by amoebae binding to the corneal epithelial cells during extended lens wear. Acanthamoeba attachment to surfaces (biological or inert) and migration is an active process and occurs during the trophozoite stage. Thus retaining amoebae in the cyst stage (dormant form) offers an added preventative measure in impeding parasite traversal from the contact lens onto the cornea. Here, we showed that as low as 3% DMSO, abolished A. castellanii excystation. Based on the findings, it is proposed that DMSO should be included in the contact lens disinfectants as an added preventative strategy against contracting Acanthamoeba keratitis., (Copyright © 2016 British Contact Lens Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)