Dextran sulfate sodium salt (DSS) is a polyanionic derivative of dextran produced by the esterification of Dextran with chlorosulphonic acid. The sulfur content is approximately 17% which corresponds to an average of 1.9 sulfate groups per glucosyl residue of the dextran molecule. DSS has several characteristics: 1) polyanionic complex, soluble in water, forming a colorless aqueous solution; 2) high purity and good stability; 3) can be degraded naturally. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic, relapsing gastrointestinal infection that increases the risk of intestinal tumors, mainly including UC and Crohn disease (CD). In 1985, after the hamster ulcerative colitis model was first prepared by using DSS, a large number of studies have proved that the DSS colitis model is similar to human ulcerative colitis. The histological features, clinical manifestations, disease site, and cytokine proliferation of the DSS colitis model are very similar to human ulcerative colitis (UC). The modeling conditions and operation methods of this model are simple, the expenditure is very cheap, the repeatability is good, and it is easy to master and popularize. The DSS concentration and dosing time can be adjusted according to the experimental purpose to establish acute, chronic, and acute-chronic alternation models.

Features

High purity, water-soluble, and stable – forms a clear aqueous solution with reliable quality.

Biodegradable – naturally degradable, safe for long-term studies.

Easy to use – simple protocols with high repeatability.

Versatile UC model induction – dose-dependent UC symptoms, closely resembling human UC.

Multi-species applicability – effective in mice, rats, zebrafish, pigs, fruit flies, etc.

Widely used in IBD/CAC research – especially suitable for colitis and colitis-associated cancer models (with AOM).

Applications

For modeling colitis

Specifications

English synonym	Dextran Sulfate Sodium Salt, DSS; Dextran Sodium Sulfate
CAS NO.	9011-18-1
Formula	(C6H7Na3O14S3)n
Appearance	White or off-white powder
Solubility	Soluble in water, slightly soluble in ethanol.
Structure

Components

Figures

Figure 1 H&E staining results of DSS acute colitis sections^[1]

Animal: BALB/c mice, female, 6-8 weeks, 25 g; Method: 3.5% DSS for 7 days

Figure 2 H&E staining results of colitis-associated cancer sections^[2]

Animal: BALB/c mice, male,7 weeks old; DSS concentration: 2.5%; AOM concentration:10 mg/kg; Experiment period:10 weeks

*Links to this resource:

[1]Gao X, Fan W, Tan L, et al. Soy isoflavones ameliorate experimental colitis by targeting ERα/NLRP3 inflammasome pathways[J]. The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, 2020, 83.
[2]Jia-Rong Huang, et al. Piperlongumine Alleviates Mouse Colitis and Colitis-Associated Colorectal Cancer[J]. Frontiers in Pharmacology. 2020.586885