The effect of dimethylsulfoxide on the water transport response of rat liver tissue during freezing

This work investigates the biophysical response of water transport in a clinically important tissue type-liver-to freezing in the presence of dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO). Sprague-Dawley rat liver tissue samples were frozen in RPMI media supplemented with 1 and 2 M DMSO at a cooling rate of 5°C/min. The water transport was measured by cell volumetric changes as assessed by low temperature freeze substitution microscopy and image analysis. These data were compared to a previous study where liver in the absence of DMSO was cooled at the same rate and shown to be completely dehydrated at -20°C [27]. Curve-fitting a water transport model to the experimental data showed that L(pg) and E(Lp) drop from 19 μm/min-atm and 69 kcal/mole in the absence of DMSO [27] to 0.033 μm/min-atm and 8.1 kcal/mol in 2 M DMSO. The available data were unable to support a statistically significant difference between the 1 M and 2 M DMSO parameters.