Dimethyl sulfoxide, also known as DMSO, is an organosulfur compound. DMSO is a polar aprotic solvent, meaning that it can dissolve ions along with polar protic solvents, but does not have an acidic hydrogen in its structure. DMSO is also miscible in organic compounds and water, meaning that it will form a homogeneous solution when mixed with an organic compound or water.
DMSO is actually a by-product from the process of converting wood into wood pulp. This process also creates dimethyl sulfide, which, when oxidated with oxygen or nitrogen dioxide, can create DMSO.
DMSO has a wide variety of uses, ranging from biological and medicinal to everyday household uses. DMSO, while studied greatly throughout the years, is still not understood very well, due to the controversy surrounding its various uses in medical treatments. For example, in 1965 an Irish woman died due to DMSO treatment for a sprained wrist, causing all DMSO studies to come to a halt. The FDA later approved DMSO for treatment of interstitial cystitis, a bladder disease. Only then did DMSO studies begin to expand.
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