Detailed Product Description:

A colorless, hygroscopic, nearly odorless liquid.  Soluble in water,

alcohol, benzene, acetone, and chloroform.  Extremely powerful

aprotic solvent.  Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is an important polar

aprotic solvent that dissolves both polar and nonpolar compounds.

It is miscible in a wide range of organic solvents as well as water.  It

has a distinctive property of penetrating the skin very readily, allowing

the handler to taste it.  Its taste has been described as oyster- or garlic-like. 

DMSO is an important polar aprotic solvent.  Polar aprotic solvents are

solvents that possess ion dissolving power but lack an acidic hydrogen.

These solvents generally have high dielectric constants and high polarity. 

Other examples of aprotic solvents include water, methanol, ethanol, formic

acid, hydrogen fluoride, ammonia, .dimethylformamide and

hexamethylphosphorotriamide. 

DMSO is less toxic than other members of this class such as dimethylformamide,

dimethylacetamide, NMP or HMPA.  Because of its excellent solvating power,

DMSO is frequently used as a solvent for chemical reactions involving salts.

Because DMSO is only weakly acidic, it tolerates relatively strong bases.  

Application Notes:

Note that the melting point of this solvent is 18.5C which is just

below room temperature.  Contents of container may turn to a solid

in cold conditions.  Slowly return to liquid by allowing it to

equilibrate at room temperature.  DMSO has a wide range of uses from

paint stripping and industrial cleaners to medical applications such as

anti-inflammatories.  A practical problem with DMSO as a solvent is its

high boiling point, thus its solutions are not typically evaporated.  Instead,

reactions conducted in DMSO are often diluted with water to precipitate

organic products.  

DMSO is an effective paint stripper, being safer than many of the others

such as methylene chloride, nitromethane and dichloromethane. 

Grade & Purity:

This is an ACS Reagent grade solvent, minimum 99.9% purity

Precautions:

Combustible.  MSDS recommends wearing safety glasses because

DMSO can cause chronic damage to the eyes.  Glove selection is also

important when working with DMSO.  Thick rubber gloves are

recommended.  Nitrile gloves, which are commonly used in chemical

laboratories, have been found to dissolve rapidly with exposure to DMSO.

DMSO by itself has low toxicity but because it easily penetrates the skin,

substances dissolved in DMSO may be quickly absorbed.  For instance,

a solution of sodium cyanide in DMSO can cause cyanide poisoning

through skin contact.  

Dimethyl sulfoxide can produce an explosive reaction when exposed to

acid chlorides. 

Recently, it was found that DMSO waste disposal into sewers caused

environmental odor problems in cities.  Waste water bacteria transform

DMSO under hypoxic (anoxic) conditions into dimethyl sulfide (DMS)

that is slightly toxic and has a strong disagreeable odor, similar to rotten

cabbage.

                Click here to download MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet)

Packaging:

Comes packed in 500ml boston round, amber glass bottle.