TY - JOUR
T1 - Evaluation of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as a co-solvent for toxicity testing of hydrophobic organic compounds
AU - Modrzyński, Jakub J.
AU - Christensen, Jan H.
AU - Brandt, Kristian K.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
PY - 2019/11
Y1 - 2019/11
N2 - Toxicity testing of hydrophobic compounds with low aqueous solubility remains challenging. Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is widely used as a co-solvent for toxicity testing of hydrophobic chemicals, but it may modulate chemical toxicity patterns. In this study, we critically evaluated the suitability of DMSO as a co-solvent for toxicity testing of hydrophobic organic compounds in aqueous solutions. As the toxicity measure, we used growth inhibition of a natural bacterial community, and the test toxicants included phenol, BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene) and transformation products of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). We found that dose-response curves for phenol were unaffected by DMSO concentrations up to 10% (v/v) and that DMSO (5% v/v) did not affect the degree of bacterial growth inhibition for any of the other test compounds in short-term experiments (3.5 h). By contrast, marked co-solvent effects of DMSO were observed in the long-term assay (25 and 27 h). We therefore conclude that DMSO has excellent co-solvent properties for short-term (≤3.5 h) toxicity testing of sparingly water-soluble compounds and its application provides a simple, inexpensive approach for screening of various environmentally relevant hydrophobic chemicals. Importantly, the use of DMSO allows for generation of full dose-responses that may otherwise not be attained.
AB - Toxicity testing of hydrophobic compounds with low aqueous solubility remains challenging. Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is widely used as a co-solvent for toxicity testing of hydrophobic chemicals, but it may modulate chemical toxicity patterns. In this study, we critically evaluated the suitability of DMSO as a co-solvent for toxicity testing of hydrophobic organic compounds in aqueous solutions. As the toxicity measure, we used growth inhibition of a natural bacterial community, and the test toxicants included phenol, BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene) and transformation products of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). We found that dose-response curves for phenol were unaffected by DMSO concentrations up to 10% (v/v) and that DMSO (5% v/v) did not affect the degree of bacterial growth inhibition for any of the other test compounds in short-term experiments (3.5 h). By contrast, marked co-solvent effects of DMSO were observed in the long-term assay (25 and 27 h). We therefore conclude that DMSO has excellent co-solvent properties for short-term (≤3.5 h) toxicity testing of sparingly water-soluble compounds and its application provides a simple, inexpensive approach for screening of various environmentally relevant hydrophobic chemicals. Importantly, the use of DMSO allows for generation of full dose-responses that may otherwise not be attained.
KW - BTEX
KW - Ecotoxicity
KW - Hydrophobic organic compounds
KW - Leucine incorporation
KW - Soil bacterial community
KW - Solubility
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85075093906&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10646-019-02107-0
DO - 10.1007/s10646-019-02107-0
M3 - Article
C2 - 31559559
AN - SCOPUS:85075093906
SN - 0963-9292
VL - 28
SP - 1136
EP - 1141
JO - Ecotoxicology
JF - Ecotoxicology
IS - 9
ER -