Koch Lab:Protocols/Kinesin/Taxol suspension

Taxol
We purchased this from Cytoskeleton and they says to store it at -20˚C. Sigma says to store it from 2-8˚C so there is absolutely no consensus here on the storage temperature. We have it stored in our -80˚C freezer. Sigma does say that stored in DMSO, Taxol is stable for "several" months.

What's nice about getting Taxol from Cytoskeleton is that it is already aliquoted in convenient sizes.

Some things to note about Taxol is that it is very toxic. You definitely want to wear gloves when handling it. It is also not soluble in water.

|SIGMA&N5=SEARCH_CONCAT_PNO|BRAND_KEY&F=SPEC DMSO
Taxol is soluble in DMSO. DMSO is hygroscopic and reacts with just about everything. Originally we got this from Cytoskeleton however, the way we were originally storing it may have caused problems. The stuff we got from Cytoskeleton is in the -80˚C freezer and the stuff we got from Sigma is in the desiccator.

Sigma packs DMSO in ampules. Since DMSO likes just about everything, it must be stored in something that it will not react with. It turns out that DMSO can be stored in HDPE, LDPE, and PP without any problems. Thankfully, the cryo vials from Nalgene are made of HDPE and PP. The DMSO from one ampule can be stored in 3 cryo vials. These cryo vials are then in a secondary HDPE container filled with desiccant in a nitrogen environment. The jar is then stored in the desiccator.

When handling this stuff, you need to be crazy careful. Apparently if you get it on your skin you will taste garlic almost immediately.

Recipe
Cytoskeleton suggests making a stock solution of Taxol in DMSO at a final concentration of 2 mM. Andy has it at a concentration of 10 mM in DMSO. The Cytoskeleton vials have approximately 170 µg of Taxol in them. Adding 20 µL of DMSO to one of these vials will give you a final concentration of 10 mM Taxol in DMSO.