Purpose of Glycerol - Purpose of Glycerol (Mar/17/2005 )

Hi,
What is the purpose of using Glycerol while preparing stock cultures for long term storage?
What property of glycerol makes it suitable for this purpose?

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I prevents the water from forming crystals which would otherwise cause the bacteria to burst in freezing temperatures

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Glycerol acts as a cryoprotective agent, the same as DMSO or sacarose. Cryoprotectors form stable hydrogen bonds with water molecules and decrease the freezing point of the solution. In this way, they inhibit the efflux of intracellular water thereby preventing the cell from shrinking. They also decrease the amount of ice crystal formed, which may damage or rupture the cells. You can get a lot more information in this link: Fundamentals of cryobiology
Cheers!

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Hai
Good Question !
really basic thing............
but, we have to know these basics.
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