Data from: Assessing PDMS biocompatibility in microfluidic applications: Toxicity and survival outcomes in C. elegans.
Data files
Jan 08, 2026 version files 1.10 GB
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Daf_16.m
4.97 KB
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Figure1a.zip
6.09 KB
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Figure1b.csv
153 B
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Figure1c.csv
150 B
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Figure2b.csv
191 B
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Figure2c.csv
181 B
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Figure2d.csv
869 B
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Figure2e.csv
200 B
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Figure2f.csv
191 B
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Figure3a.csv
263 B
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Figure3b.csv
204 B
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Figure3c.csv
2.34 KB
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Figure4.csv
158 B
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Figure5a.csv
113 B
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Figure5b.csv
185 B
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Imaging.zip
1.10 GB
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README.md
3.54 KB
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SF1a.csv
119 B
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Sf1b.csv
122 B
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SF2a.csv
9.42 KB
Abstract
Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), often assumed to be biocompatible, is widely used in microfluidic devices and biomedical research. Here, we systematically assess the organismal effects of PDMS network components and their leachates using Caenorhabditis elegans as a whole-animal model. We demonstrate that uncrosslinked vinyl-terminated PDMS (v-PDMS) chains, which comprise the majority of a PDMS network and are known to diffuse into aqueous environments, exhibit acute, environmentally dependent toxicity. Low-molecular-weight v-PDMS (6 kDa) caused mild lethality in nutrient-rich S-Medium but significantly higher mortality in minimal S-Buffer, showing that media composition strongly influences toxic effects. Adding cholesterol, calcium, or magnesium notably reduced v-PDMS-induced lethality, whereas trace metals increased it. Using a DAF-16::GFP reporter strain, we show that cholesterol influences organismal stress responses to v-PDMS exposures. Progeny from starved parents showed full resistance to v-PDMS, suggesting transgenerational stress memory plays a role in reducing PDMS toxicity. We also find that linear siloxanes cause modest but significant lethality, whereas cyclic siloxanes do not. The PDMS crosslinker TDSS, however, provides partial protection when present with v-PDMS, revealing diverse biological effects among PDMS network precursors. Overall, these results show that PDMS-derived components are not universally harmless and that susceptibility depends greatly on environmental conditions, sterol levels, and physiological history. Our findings emphasize the importance of carefully evaluating PDMS formulations for biomedical use and offer a framework for assessing polymer leachate toxicity in living organisms.
Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.1zcrjdg6k
Description of the data and file structure
This dataset contains raw and processed data supporting the findings of the associated manuscript.
The study investigates the toxicity of PDMS formulations to C. elegans.
All data are provided under the Dryad CC0 public domain dedication.
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Source data underlying figures in the manuscript.
Each file corresponds directly to a figure panel.
Files and variables
File: Figure1b.csv, Figure1c.csv, Figure2c.csv, Figure2b.csv, Figure2e.csv, Figure2f.csv, Figure3a.csv, Figure3b.csv, Figure4.csv, Figure5a.csv, Figure5b.csv, SF1a.csv, Sf1b.csv:
Description: Each of these files corresponds to a panel in a figure that the name of the file points to. All of these files are structured in the same way. The first column contains the description of the experimental condition of the row. The following columns contain the counts of alive or dead worms in triplicate, one for each biological replicate.
Variables
- alive: Number of worms qualified as alive at the moment of counting.
- dead: Number of worms qualified as dead at the moment of counting.
File: Figure2d.csv
Description: Data corresponding to the survival curve in figure 2 panel d. The first column indicates the time in hours at which the worms were counted as alive or dead. This file also contains columns with three biological replicates, and it is split into two segments, as raw counts (SB, SB+v-PDMS) and as fractional (Control, v-PDMS 6kda) survival.
Variables
- SB : Number of worms cultured in S-Basal counted as alive at each time point
- SB+v-PDMS: Number of worms cultured in S-Basal equilibrated with v-PDMS counted as alive at each time point
- Control: Fractional survival of worms cultured in S-Basal counted as alive at each time point
- v-PDMS 6kDa: Fractional survival of worms cultured in S-Basal with v-PMDS counted as alive at each time point
File: Figure3c.csv
Description: Average brightness values of the pixels considered to be part of the worm, for each of the images used to elaborate panel c in figure 3. each column corresponds to the experimental condition and each row to an individual image in the dataset.
Variables
- Control: ASM10 worms cultured in S-Basal
- vPDMS: ASM10 worms cultured in S-Basal equilibrated with v-PDMS
- Chol: ASM10 worms cultured in S-Basal equilibrated with v-PDMS plus cholesterol
File: SF2a.csv
Description: Data for Supplementary figure 2 panel a. Rows represent an individual image analyzed
Variables
- filename: name of the raw image analyzed
- condition: Experimental group that the image belongs to.
- ID: unique identifying number for the image
- Nuclear localization index: Index used to determine differences in nuclear localization for daf-16, calculated as the sum of the brightness of the pixels identified as nuclei divided by the sum of the brightness of the rest of the worm pixels
File: Figure1a.zip
Description: this folder includes its own read me file. The folder includes te csv reporting the area in square inches fore each of the images of the PDMS particles.
File: Imaging.zip
Description: Raw images used for Figure 3c.
File: Daf_16.m
Description: Code used to segment DAf-16 images for Figure 3c