Dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) is a very polar organic compound that is useful in organic chemistry for solubilizing organic and inorganic compounds. DMSO is also used as a cryoprotectant for cell media, preventing the formation of ice crystals which would otherwise damage cells. DMSO can be used in PCR reactions to inhibit the self-complementation of DNA or PCR primers and increase amplification, especially for DNA sequences which have GC rich sequences.