DMSO Concentrations up to 1% are Safe to be Used in the Zebrafish Embryo Developmental Toxicity Assay

Abstract

Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is a popular solvent for developmental toxicity testing of chemicals and pharmaceuticals in zebrafish embryos. In general, it is recommended to keep the final DMSO concentration as low as possible for zebrafish embryos, preferably not exceeding 100 μL/L (0.01%). However, higher concentrations of DMSO are often required to dissolve compounds in an aqueous medium. The aim of this study was to determine the highest concentration of DMSO that can be safely used in our standardized Zebrafish Embryo Developmental Toxicity Assay (ZEDTA). In the first part of this study, zebrafish embryos were exposed to different concentrations (0–2%) of DMSO. No increase in lethality or malformations was observed when using DMSO concentrations up to 1%. In a follow-up experiment, we assessed whether compounds that cause no developmental toxicity in the ZEDTA remain negative when dissolved in 1% DMSO, as false positive results due to physiological disturbances by DMSO should be avoided. To this end, zebrafish embryos were exposed to ascorbic acid and hydrochlorothiazide dissolved in 1% DMSO. Negative control groups were also included. No significant increase in malformations or lethality was observed in any of the groups. In conclusion, DMSO concentrations up to 1% can be safely used to dissolve compounds in the ZEDTA.

Mitochondria-Targeting Multifunctional Fluorescent Probe toward Polarity, Viscosity, and ONOO– and Cell Imaging

“…We observed that, after the addition of DMSO, the fluorescence intensity in the green channel and the red channel would decrease in different degrees within a short time (15 min). The decreased fluorescence intensity in the green channel confirmed that DPB could effectively detect the increase polarity in mitochondrial induced by DMSO within a short time with little effect on ONOO – . − At the same time, the reduction of the fluorescence intensity in the red channel in Figure might be due to the fact that the addition of DMSO would increase the permeability of cell membrane, and the large difference in the osmotic pressure inside and outside the cell led to the entry of PBS buffer containing 1% DMSO into the cell, thus reducing the intracellular viscosity level. Furthermore, by observing the cell imaging results of viscosity probe CS-Py-BC and ONOO – probe BTMO under the condition of increased polarity, it was found that, with the addition of DMSO, the cell viscosity gradually decreased, and the content of ONOO – was almost unchanged (see Figures S17 and S18 in the Supporting Information). − Thus, DPB was able to be used to monitor the polarity change and the accompanying viscosity change during the polarity change in mitochondria.…”

Targeting fibroblast growth factor receptors causes severe craniofacial malformations in zebrafish larvae

“…The final DMSO concentration was 0.1% (v/v) in all treatments. This concentration has been reported to be safe and not to cause mortality or malformations ( Hoyberghs et al, 2021 ). Two control groups were included: one of 0.1% DMSO and an untreated group to check for possible effects of the vehicle.…”

“Drying effect” of fructus aurantii components and the mechanism of action based on network pharmacology and in vitro pharmacodynamic validation

“…The four components were flavonoids and had poor solubility in water. Hence, 0.1% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) was added when preparing the solution for administration ( Gilfanova et al, 2021 ; Hoyberghs et al, 2021 ). To ensure consistency, the same dose of DMSO solution was also added in physiologic (0.9%) saline.2.10.3Validation of pharmacodynamics sixty healthy, specific pathogen-free (SPF), female BALB/C mice (license number: SCXK(Yu) 2020-0005) were purchased from Henan Sikebasi Biotechnology (Henan, China).…”