Dimethyl Sulfoxide is a highly polar organic liquid that is used widely as a chemical solvent and a free radical scavenger. It shows a range of pharmacological activity including analgesia and anti-inflammation.
DMSO is used for bladderinflammation (interstitial cystitis), limb pain that usually occurs after an injury (complex regional pain syndrome), and leakage of intravenous (IV) drug from the vein into surrounding skin and tissue (extravasation).
DMSO has a calculated half-life of 16 h in blood; the corresponding value for dimethyl sulfone is 38 h. About 3% of oral doses is exhaled as dimethyl sulfide.
This colorless liquid is an important polar aprotic solvent that dissolves both polar and nonpolar compounds.