Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO)

About This Product

Dimethyl sulfoxide, DMSO, has the formula C2H6OS and CAS number 67-68-5. It is a clear, colourless, hygroscopic liquid, boiling at about 189 °C and freezing at about 18.5 °C, fully miscible with water and with most organic solvents. DMSO dissolves an unusually wide range of materials, from salts and polar polymers to many non-polar organics, and it strongly accelerates reactions that proceed through anions, because it solvates cations while leaving the anion reactive. Its toxicity is low, which has helped it replace more hazardous polar aprotic solvents in some processes. Two properties need to be designed around. It freezes at room temperature in cool buildings, so drums may arrive solid and need gentle warming, which does not harm the product. And it passes readily through skin, carrying dissolved substances with it, so gloves must be chosen for DMSO resistance and contamination avoided. Traces of dimethyl sulphide give degraded or poorly purified material a garlic-like odour. It is used as a reaction solvent in pharmaceutical and agrochemical synthesis, in photoresist stripping and electronics cleaning, in acrylic fibre and polymer processing, in paint and coating removal and as a solvent in agrochemical formulations. Bio Green Chem supplies DMSO at 99 percent minimum in 225 kg drums or ISO tanks, with the full specification on assay, water, acidity, colour and residue confirmed with the quotation. It is combustible, and its ability to carry other substances through the skin should be reflected in handling; handle to the safety data sheet.