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DMSO route of administration

S

stormyweathers

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i have read that certain alkaloids(primarily aspirin) dissolved in DMSO can be absorbed directly through the skin

would it be possible for more "useful" alkaloids to be absorbed as well?

this could open a whole new door to people who are opposed to IV'ing drugs but still want the same potency.

"use of DMSO in medicine dates from around 1963, when a University of Oregon Medical School team, headed by Stanley Jacob, discovered it could penetrate the skin and other membranes without damaging them and could carry other compounds into a biological system. In medicine, DMSO is predominantly used as a topical analgesic, a vehicle for topical application of pharmaceuticals, as an anti-inflammatory, and an antioxidant.[citation needed]. Because DMSO increases the rate of absorption of some compounds through organic tissues including skin, it can be used as a drug delivery system. It is frequently compounded with antifungal medications, enabling them to penetrate not just skin but also toe and fingernails."

wikipedia
 
1. Aspirin is not an alkaloid. Check the definition!

2. Aspirin was succesfully applied transdermally with the aid of DMSO in research experiments, but it is not available in this form to the public. Why the hell would anybody want to apply such a crappy drug with so expensive means?

3. Yes, it possible to administer various drugs with the aid of DMSO-containing formulations. Here is an example for a DMSO-based hydrogel:
  • Hypromellose 2000: 3.0 g
    + (purified) water: 67 g
    + DMSO: 30 g
    + desired amount drug
Be sure to use pharmaceutical grade DMSO!!!

Try to use Google and you'll certainly find many variations for hydrogels, cremes etc...

Peace! - Murphy
 
i realized that dissonance between aspirin and alkaloid about 15 mins after i posted, lol

but anyway, why is it necessary to use parm grade DMSO?
i bought some 98% a while back to put on people to make them taste oysters, would that work?
 
You want the DMSO to be as pure as possible because it is good at carrying organic molecules across skin/membranes, putting dissolved impurities from the DMSO into your body. This is one of the reasons you have to be extra careful if you work in a lab synthesizing bioactive materials and routinely use DMSO as a solvent :)
 
stormyweathers said:
but anyway, why is it necessary to use parm grade DMSO?
i bought some 98% a while back to put on people to make them taste oysters, would that work?
Click to expand...

DMSO is one of the few solvents that dissolves almost everything, at least by practical considerations. Every impurity is a potentially harmful substance; you never know what the remaining 2% are. Could be synthesis by-products, non-volatile impurities from any of the production steps, dissloved plasticizers...the list goes on and and an on... And everything would get a free ticket through your skin, right into your bloodstream.
For this reason, I have to insist on pharmaceutical grade DMSO. Harm reduction, folks, harm reduction!

I didn't get this "oyster"-statement though...

- Murphy
 
I believe that Stormy means that topical administration of DMSO induced a "phantom taste" resembling Oysters...but I'm not sure what meaning was intended either.
 
^I think you're right. I've spilled small amounts of DMSO on my hands in the past and was able to detect a strange garlic-y taste almost immediately afterward.
 
I need to ask a question that is probably moronic. My lab manual tells me to wear nitrile gloves when working with DMSO. Is it absolutely impossible for the material of the gloves to undergo decyanation when exposed to some other reagent that may be used in the presence of DMSO?

As in one of the mechanisms here, for instance.
 
seep said:
I need to ask a question that is probably moronic. My lab manual tells me to wear nitrile gloves when working with DMSO. Is it absolutely impossible for the material of the gloves to undergo decyanation when exposed to some other reagent that may be used in the presence of DMSO?

As in one of the mechanisms here, for instance.
Click to expand...

It's not impossible, but highly unlikely IMO. A method to decyanate a nitrile glove would require strong reducing conditions like a single electron transfer reagent (such as, Birch type dissolving metal conditions, lithium naphthelenide, samarium iodide etc.) which would produce an inorganic cyanide salt (like lithium cyanide, sodium cyanide etc. I don't think these are especially soluble in DMSO). Some transition metal hydride complexes might have a shot of doing it as well, but either way it would require a very reactive reagent that is more likely to be decomposed by atmospheric moisture and oxygen before it is able to decyanate a significant amount of nitrile rubber.

Nitrile gloves are pretty good at keeping most things out, but plenty of chemicals go right through them (you'll notice that if you spill dichloromethane on a nitrile gloved hand, it soaks through but can't readily evaporate from the space between your hand and the glove, resulting in a painful burning sensation). It's generally a good idea to throw your gloves out when they get splashed with solvent. I probably go through at least 15 pairs a day. :)
 
shulgin_jr said:
you'll notice that if you spill dichloromethane on a nitrile gloved hand, it soaks through but can't readily evaporate from the space between your hand and the glove, resulting in a painful burning sensation
Click to expand...

Yes yes, this is indeed very painful :(
 
Thanks. I think for reductions of this type the solvent is more likely to be THF.

Cornell's latest lab safety manual recommends butyl rubber gloves (page 219) for extended contact with DMSO.
 
^^ THF is certainly a more common solvent for those kinds of reductions. Most SET reducing agents would react with DMSO itself more quickly (first forming a sulfur centered radical. . .) than they would with a nitrile glove :)
 
What about technical grade DMSO? SUre its not USP or Ultra Trace; I wonder what the limits are (in terms of PPM) for heavy metals and other unwanted nasties.......
 
negrogesic said:
What about technical grade DMSO? SUre its not USP or Ultra Trace; I wonder what the limits are (in terms of PPM) for heavy metals and other unwanted nasties.......
Click to expand...

I'm not sure, but I think that it might vary quite a bit between manufacturers. It could depend on what country the chemical is coming from as well, since as far as I know the definition of tech. grade can be a little subjective. Some companies will supply assay data for various impurities right on the label. As you pointed out, there could potentially be some pretty nasty stuff in tech. grade solvents that you wouldn't want floating around in your bloodstream.

I can't think of a good way to purify DMSO without proper lab equipment. It is miscible with water, has a high boiling point and easily dissolves a large variety of materials.
 
For transdermal applications I have to insist on pharmaceutical grade DMSO. The reasons were explained above. Anything else is just denying the obvious risks.

- Murphy
 
Can I administer ketamine transdermally with 99.99% dmso gel? If so, how will the strength of the experience compare to the same amount of ketamine snorted or ingested?
 
shulgin_jr said:
Nitrile gloves are pretty good at keeping most things out, but plenty of chemicals go right through them (you'll notice that if you spill dichloromethane on a nitrile gloved hand, it soaks through but can't readily evaporate from the space between your hand and the glove, resulting in a painful burning sensation). It's generally a good idea to throw your gloves out when they get splashed with solvent. I probably go through at least 15 pairs a day. :)
Click to expand...

This. A researcher at Dartmouth once died after absorbing a drop of dimethylmercury through her glove. Gloves are not a brick wall, they are a speed bump.
 
My experiences with DMSO have generally been lacking and don't seem to indicate any absorption. Nick Sand had also stated that he dissolved a large amount of LSD into DMSO, rubbed it all over his arms, abdomen and chest and didn't feel a thing. I'm not saying it doesn't work, it just hasn't been very successful for me.

DMSO has gone straight through my nitrile gloves as well, so don't be surprised if it does that.
 
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