Dimethylsulfoxide penetration

Dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) is the antidote of choice for anthracycline and mitomycin C extravasations. It readily penetrates tissues and increases diffusion in the tissue area. In addition, DMSO is a free-radical scavenger that functions to block this principal mechanism of anthracycline- and mitomycin C-mediated tissue injury. DMSO generally is well tolerated but may cause some mild burning and redness. Dexrazoxane is a free-radical scavenger typically used for cardio-protection from anthracyclines. Promising results have been seen with large-volume extravasations and in a mouse model.38... 

Caution. Dimethylsulfoxide is an irritant and can penetrate the skin very easily. Contact with the skin should be avoided. It is necessary to carry out the reaction in a well-ventilated fume hood. 

Dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), the archetypal penetration enhancer, is a powerful aprotic solvent that is colorless, odorless, and hygroscopic its value as an enhancer may be predicted from its use chemically as a universal solvent (Figure 12.2). 

Much of the methyl mercaptan and dimethyl sulfide can be oxidized to dimethylsulfoxide, a useful side product that is a common polar, aprotic solvent in the chemical industry. This is in fact the primary method of its manufacture, as a kraft by-product. Caution must be used when handling it because of its extremely high rate of skin penetration. 

Figure 1 Autoradiogram of skin treated by the passive application of H-estradiol, in dimethylsulfoxide, for 2 hours. The exposure time was 81 days. (A) A macroscopic view illustrating the regions of the epidermis, hair shafts, and sebaceous glands with the highest levels of radioactivity is shown. (The arrow points at a sebaceous gland.) Penetration gradients of radioactivity are apparent between the epidermis and dermis (B-C) and regions of hair shafts and the hypodermis (D-E). The scale bar is 25 pm. (Reprinted with permission from Ref. 11.)...

Warning as dimethylsulfoxide is highly toxic and penetrates the skin, all operations must be made with rubber gloves. 

Dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) is a colorless organosulfur solvent, which dissolves both polar and non-polar compounds and is miscible in a wide range of organic solvents as well as in water. It penetrates the skin very readily. 

With the exception of halloysite (42), kaolin minerals were considered as nonexpanding layer silicates until the work of Wada (63), who showed that kaolinite could be expanded by repeated grinding with K-acetate and with otha- salts of organic acids of low molecular weight. The resulting kaolinite complexes were called intersalation compounds, but it was found later that many nonsaline organic substances (urea, formamide, dimethylsulfoxide, and others) also penetrate between kaolinite layers, whereupon the term intercalation became accepted. 

ANC Anigbogu, AC Williams, BW Barry, HGM Edwards. Fourier transform Raman spectroscopy of interactions between the penetration enhancer dimethylsulfoxide and human stratum corneum. Int J Pharm 125 265-282, 1995. 

---