Dimethyl sulfoxide

[Jay-qu]

Dimethyl sulfoxide a compound of the form (CH3)2SO, is a good solvent, liquid over a large range of temperatures (18-189C) and has a viscosity twice that of water.

 

Why am I posting about it? I was shown this and wondered why I had never heard of the molecule until today.

 

It sounds like it has some interesting properties that could be useful, but its not used :naughty:

 

So has anyone heard about this compound before? and if so do you know any interesting facts about it?

 

J

[Mercedes Benzene]

Very interesting. I've heard of it before, but I never knew what it was used for (or what it could be used for). I want to say that I heard it mentioned in an episode of "House", but I'm not entirely sure.

 

Doing some quick searches, I found multiple companies who sell DMSO for various purposes. Here's one claiming benefits to humans if used properly. index

[Moontanman]

Is a compound of the form (CH3)2SO, is a good solvent, liquid over a large range of temperatures (18-189C) and has a viscosity twice that of water.

 

Why am I posting about it? I was shown this and wondered why I had never heard of the molecule until today.

 

It sounds like it has some interesting properties that could be useful, but its not used :naughty:

 

So has anyone heard about this compound before? and if so do you know any interesting facts about it?

 

J

 

 

I've used it, I was disabled in aon the job injury and this stuff was recomened as a way to relieve pain. on touch to the skin of your foot and you can taste it in your mouth. It desolves and drags other molecules along with it when you apply it to your skin. It is also known as Horse liminent (sp?) it is sued in varous industrial processes as a solvent.

 

Michael

[JackOfTraDeZ]

DMSO - use it all the time in the lab. Known in the industry as an aprotic polar solvent. Dissolves dang near everything, also goes thru your skin like it ain't there, and carries everything dissolved in also. Good delivery system for drugs or poisons.

 

(CH3)2S=O

[Jay-qu]

Do you think it would make a good solvent that a living organism could be based around? Like in the way we have been built around water?

[Mercedes Benzene]

I suppose it's possible... however one things about dimethyl sulfoxide is that it dissolves both polar and nonpolar substances. It seems that this may be a disadvantage to creating and sustaining life, if it does in fact dissolve more substances more readily than water.

 

Another thing to look at would be the comparison of the specific heats of DMSO and water. That, along with the phase densities could give more clues as to DMSO's appropriatness to life.

[Jay-qu]

Well I know that it is liquid over a wide range of temps - and that definitely helps with facilitating life.

[Mercedes Benzene]

Well I know that it is liquid over a wide range of temps - and that definitely helps with facilitating life.

 

Unless they didn't need liquids.

I suppose that theoretically, any substance could be "life sustaining", but those organisms would have to be radically different from those on earth. That raises the question: would we consider those to be "living", or something else?

[Jay-qu]

yeah who knows... It was just one thing that we learned last year (in our constricted thinking paradigm ) that you would guess minerals and other materials for the living of the organism would need to be transported around the organism (perhaps this doesnt always hold true..) and a good medium for said transport would be a solvent.

[eric l]

I remember using DMSO in the lab - about 20 years ago - when we needed a water miscable non polar solvent. In fact we tested several, but ended by choosing THF (tetrahydrofurane). I am not sure if that was because of the price or for safety reasons.

[JackOfTraDeZ]

theoretically, dmso could be a medium for life like water - it has all the needed properties, and due to its high melting point relative to water, there would be no life at low (ice) temperatures.

 

it has been (and still is i think) being investigated for artificial blood substitutes.

 

the problem is, it would have to be originally created at some point for life to evolve in, like water was on earth. it is hard to imagine a planet forming with oceans of dmso. it does not form easily and naturally from the elements like water does.

 

also, it would have to be involved in metabolism like water is now. possible i suppose ... but not likely. dmso has sulfur in +6 valence, or +4 oxidation state, not easy to do.

 

it is amazingly non-toxic even for our life. it is used in vet practice for inflammation and other injuries; often horses have their hoofs soaking in a bucket of it after long workouts. it used to be available to the public at health stores and outfits as a gel compound - rub it on for arthritis, sprains, inflammation, etc. but the problem was it worked too well and big pharma couldn't make money from it so they petitioned big brother to yank it off the shelves based on trumped up phoney health risk "data".

 

(same thing going on now for medical THC)

[somebody]

i have come across it in my ACS final for O-CHEM. Sadly, when i was talking exam, they hand out a sheet of reagents that can be useful when answering questions. But DMSO was never an answer for anything or it didnt even come out in any questions. :D

[palmtreepathos]

I have been using DMSO for around 20 yrs. It was a safe easy thing to use for the inflamtion of arthritis. I buy the cheap $4 bottle (99% pure) at the local tack shop (horse supplies) then transfer it to a pharmaceutical grade plastic squirt bottle (contact lense rinse) then apply it to what ever hurts from inflamation by squirting on a non-antibacterial aloe soaked baby wipe. It can itch as it does cut through body oils, so a natural lotion can be applied to any itching. Always have chemical free, washed hands before using DMSO.

 

I had a shoulder that was nearly frozen stiff from a fall and inactivity and using this for a couple weeks (3x a day) completely loosened it up so I could lift weights again. Also inflamed knees much better with it... it will make you pee like a race horse though! And taste a bit of garlic after a few minutes as it enters the blood stream. This is from the sulfur compound. As I have studied up on DMSO over the years I have learned that this aspect of it may provide essential cellular nourishment that some of us are deficient in.

 

It is certainly an interesting product with many uses in the medical field. Medical teams transport donated organs in it, Doctors may flood kidneys with it for treatment of cystic kidney disease, too. I make a liquid Vit B 12 solution out of sublingual B12 tablets and DMSO.

 

Also the wipes that I use for any joint pain do double duty as I squirt a bit more DMSO on them and wipe shower doors free of soap scum. A few drops of DMSO and a couple of dishwash in a one ounce bottle of water makes a great eye glass cleanser and PC screen wipe. You have to treat it with respect though, Pure DMSO will melt the finish on nice wood!

 

 

http://http://www.jacoblab.com/FAQs.htm

 

DimethylSulfoxide-DMSO : DimethylSulfoxide-DMSO

Discussion of the therapeutic and health uses of DMSO, Dimethyl Sulfoxide, in humans and animals. DMSO is similar to MSM, which is DMSO with one more atom of oxygen. The book DMSO Nature's Healer by Dr. Morton Walker is highly recommended reading and covers the history, political controversy and use of DMSO. It answers many questions on efficacy and safety. Dr. Stanley Jacob, who developed DMSO for organ transport in the 70's is at the University of Oregon and writing a 16 volume set on DMSO. This substance is a potential life saver in many trauma situations including spinal cord injury, stroke and heart attack. It has been dubbed a "cell normalizer" and has been demonstrated to make cancer cells revert to normal in vitro. DMSO can be used to extract herbs in place of alcohol so that the resulting extracts can be applied topically rather than taken orally, a distinct advantage in many situations. There are many ways and reasons to use DMSO.

Please add yours to the discussions.

 

 

 

DMSO Literature

 

 

 

Androdecent | Too Late Schmart | Summer 2003

Increase detoxication capacity:

 

Detoxication in the body takes place in two distinct phases. Phase I of the detoxication process takes lipophilic (fat-soluble) molecules and makes them water-soluble (polar). This task is effected by oxidoreductase enzymes that transfer electrons to and from fat-soluble toxins. The enzymes are collectively called the "cytochrome P450 enzyme system." They are typically found anchored to the membranes of the endoplasmic reticulae and the mitochondria within cells. Cytochrome P450 enzymes are responsible for all molecules that require conversion to water-soluble forms including food-related toxins, most drugs, steroid hormones, neurotransmitters, eicosanoids, bile acids and caffeine.

 

The water-soluble molecules from Phase I detoxication are reacted with chemicals in the Phase II group that are catalyzed by Phase II enzymes called "transferases". The transfer reactions that occur in Phase II detoxication are typically referred to as "conjugation" reactions because of the joining together of Phase I-activated toxins and Phase II chemical groups. There are five basic types of conjugation reactions in Phase II. The biochemicals for these conjugation reactions can be supplemented to increase detoxication capacity. They are as follows:

 

Sulfation - use glutathione ( a tripeptide consisting of glutamic acid, glycine and cysteine) and other sulfur sources such as methyl-sulfonyl-methane (MSM) and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). Glutathione is generally regarded as the most important thiol (--SH) in humans. Glutathione can cause cancer cell to redifferentiate to normal cells. Glutathione is a vital part of the chemotaxis process that allows the immune system phagocytes to recognize, engulf and digest pathogenic microorganisms, cellular debris and foreign particles. Mercury, lead (and maybe other toxic metals) are taken out of circulation by all sulfur compounds prior to excretion from the body.

Methylation - Uses methyl groups from molecules such as dimethylglycine (DMG), trimethylglycine (TMG), trimethylaminoethanol (choline), dimethylaminoethanol (DMAE), and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). Methylation deficiency has been linked to schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, depression, cancers and general aging.

[Moontanman]

I remember using DMSO in the lab - about 20 years ago - when we needed a water miscable non polar solvent. In fact we tested several, but ended by choosing THF (tetrahydrofurane). I am not sure if that was because of the price or for safety reasons.

 

I'm not sure how well DMSO could replace water on a small scale, but what process could replace it on a scale comparable to our oceans? It did have some interesting oxygen transfer properties. I know that mixing it with pot and using it as a rubdown lotion had an interesting effect.

 

Moontanman

[Moontanman]

Moderation Note: The following 3 posts were moved from Hot water freezes faster than cold water as Dimethyl Sulfoxide is more on-topic here

 

Ahh, but do they also expand when heated. Not argueing here, far from it.Just going by a stray comment on another forum, that SAID that H2o is the only substance that expands when heated or cooled.Wondered why. Another stray thought; Read up on the origin of DMSO, the source for MSM.Said it comes from algae, that grows in coastline wetlands. When the water evaporates, it carries the DMSO with it, into clouds, and down with rain. Absorbed into the soil, then into plants, eaten by animals, both of which we eat. This is why its so ubiquitous.My point is those who talk about using rainwater, and then distilling it, to get a 'pure' water to experiment with.DMSO would be in the rainwater, even after distilling, although admittedly in small quantities.And DMSO has some REALLY strange qualities! Wonder if some of the anamolies of water are because of the DMSO in it? I don't know if its even possible/practical to remove the DMSO.Anyway, just thinking,...Jim

 

Yes they expand when heated, water contracts until it at a certain point (cold) and then begins to expand as it freezes so do these other substances. Once above this densest point water and these substances expand as well (hot) What is DMSO?

[Dutchdivco]

Ah, I shall know to question that source, in the future.Easiest to ask google, but I'll try to summarise;Dimehylsulphone, I think thats at least most of it.Freeses at,..about 60-70 degrees F., which I forgot until one day when I went to poor some out of my gallon jug, and it was frozen solid.It is used in labs, as a universal solvent, as it will dissolve ALMOST anything.

One of its most focused on unique qualities; our skin is no barrier to it, it soaks right on thru. And, it will carry many chemicals (below a certain size) along with it. However, as most bacteria and viruses are too big, won't carry them.So, you can, for instance, dissolve vitamine B-12 in it. Then, spread some on your skin.Enters your blood stream as fast as an IV slow push. Instant B-12 shot, with out the pain or fuss! I mix a dilute of food grade hydrogen peroxide with it, amongst other things.Like a breathe of fresh air. great for an emergency where people are having breathing problems, said to kill cancer cells, etc. Anyway, a really interesting substance, check it out!Jim

[Moontanman]

Ah, I shall know to question that source, in the future.Easiest to ask google, but I'll try to summarise;Dimehylsulphone, I think thats at least most of it.Freeses at,..about 60-70 degrees F., which I forgot until one day when I went to poor some out of my gallon jug, and it was frozen solid.It is used in labs, as a universal solvent, as it will dissolve ALMOST anything.

One of its most focused on unique qualities; our skin is no barrier to it, it soaks right on thru. And, it will carry many chemicals (below a certain size) along with it. However, as most bacteria and viruses are too big, won't carry them.So, you can, for instance, dissolve vitamine B-12 in it. Then, spread some on your skin.Enters your blood stream as fast as an IV slow push. Instant B-12 shot, with out the pain or fuss! I mix a dilute of food grade hydrogen peroxide with it, amongst other things.Like a breathe of fresh air. great for an emergency where people are having breathing problems, said to kill cancer cells, etc. Anyway, a really interesting substance, check it out!Jim

 

OIC horse liniment, I didn't know it was formed in nature. Weird stuff, lots of things attributed to it sounds a more than a little bit too good to be true. I've used it on a bad ankle, it absorbs into your skin and you can taste a garlic like taste in your mouth almost at once.

 

WikiAnswers - Is DMSO dimethyl sulfoxide dangerous

 

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