How Do Animals Survive Extreme Temperature Amplitudes? The Role of Natural Deep Eutectic Solvents

Abstract

Recent findings have reported the reason why some living beings are able to withstand the huge thermal amplitudes between winter and summer in their natural habitats. They are able to produce metabolites decreasing deeply the crystallization temperature of water, avoiding cell disrupture due to the presence of ice crystals and overcoming osmotic effects. In vitro, the possibility to cool living cells and tissues to cryogenic temperatures in the absence of ice can be achieved through a vitrification process. Vitrification has been suggested as an alternative approach to cryopreservation and could hereafter follow an interesting biomimetic perspective. The metabolites produced by these animals are mostly sugars, organic acids, choline derivatives, or urea. When combined at a particular composition, these compounds form a new liquid phase which has been defined as Natural Deep Eutectic Solvents (NADES). In this review, we relate the findings of different areas of knowledge from evolutive biology, cryobiology, and thermodynamics and give a perspective to the potential of NADES in the development of new cryoprotective agents.

Deep Eutectic Solvents for Pretreatment, Extraction, and Catalysis of Biomass and Food Waste

“…For example, many water-insoluble metabolites are transferred into plants because of the presence of such natural solvents. Plants can also survive extremely cold temperatures since the membranes, enzymes, and metabolites are stabilized in plant cells rich in NADESs [103]. In the following section, the physicochemical properties of DESs are discussed.…”

Deep Eutectic Solvents as a New Generation of Chemical Chaperones

“…For instance, NADESs could provide a matrix, in which the reactions involving poorly water soluble substrates/products and also the biosynthesis, storing and transporting of non‐water soluble molecules and polymers take place ,,,. Moreover, this media may allow the cells to tolerate adverse conditions, including low and high temperatures, desiccation and salt stress ,,,. As a natural strategy of survival of some extreme‐cold tolerant animals, the concentration of DES components as metabolites increase unexpectedly under extreme cold conditions .…”

“…Moreover, this media may allow the cells to tolerate adverse conditions, including low and high temperatures, desiccation and salt stress ,,,. As a natural strategy of survival of some extreme‐cold tolerant animals, the concentration of DES components as metabolites increase unexpectedly under extreme cold conditions . The role of DESs in bacterial cryoprotection and preservation has also been elucidated ,,…”

“…As a natural strategy of survival of some extreme‐cold tolerant animals, the concentration of DES components as metabolites increase unexpectedly under extreme cold conditions . The role of DESs in bacterial cryoprotection and preservation has also been elucidated ,, DESs have also been suggested to provide an environment in which metabolism occurs under extreme conditions ,.…”

Natural Deep Eutectic Solvent as Extraction Media for the Main Phenolic Compounds from Olive Oil Processing Wastes

“…In recent years, the concepts of the green economy and eco-sustainability have led to increased attention being paid to deep eutectic solvents (DESs), new solvents that are emerging as a promising and greener alternative to conventional organic solvents [ 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 ]. DESs represent a new generation of solvents that are mostly based on mixtures of cheap and easily available components: non-toxic quaternary ammonium salts (e.g., choline chloride) and an unbound, naturally derived hydrogen donor (e.g., amides, sugars, alcohols, polyols) [ 36 ].…”