Clayton Family wrote:
Hm. I see what you are saying, but I did not think that osmosis was due to solvency- but you are making sense. I am aware of the size factor in osmosis, but it seems that there are other chemical reactions or interactions going on that contribute to something being absorbed by the body, that can not be described satisfactorily by size alone. Take brain chemicals, for instance, there are many receptors etc that enter into the equasion in both the gut and the brain. I was under the impression that dmso is a different kind of solvent than either water or oil, as something in water will not penetrate the skin in the same way as when in dmso, ditto for oil. So dmso has a unique property that carries it into the skin.
The unique property that dmso has is that it easily diffuses through the skin. Water and oil will diffuse through it as well, but not as readily. Plus there is already water and oil in the skin and tissues, so the normal flow of these substances is out of the skin not into it. Since there is little or no dmso in the tissues and skin, it is absorbed unimpeded along with anything dissolved in it that can diffuse through the skin..


I also thought that osmosis inside the body is somewhat mysterious, as there is a size factor, but I don't think that explains all of it. Reverse osmosis is solely a size filter, I thought.
Osmosis is simply the fact that if you have a liquid on both sides of a membrane, and one side has a higher solute level than the other, the solvent will flow through the membrane so as to dilute the side that is more concentrated. If restrained from doing so by a container, then there will be a pressure differential between the two sides of the container, where the side that has more solute concentration will have a higher pressure, which is called osmotic pressure. If you increase the pressure across the membrane beyond the equilibrium point, the flow will go from higher pressure to lower, and from higher concentration to lower. This is what is called reverse osmosis, because the flow is opposite the normal direction of flow due to the forced pressure differential.

Are you saying that you can dissolve something completely in dmso, and it will still be too large to be absorbed through the skin? is this due to pore size, or something else?
Yes, and it is due to pore size. Not necessarily the pores you see in your skin, but the gaps between the cells of the skin membrane.

Marshall

On Jan 16, 2008, at 1:59 PM, Marshall Dudley wrote:

I think you will find that the inability of a solvent to convey a solute which is greater than a certain molecular size is well documented. Look at osmosis an reverse osmosis. That is the name given to this action. Molecules greater than a certain size simply cannot cross a membrane barrier and get left behind. The question is not if it will happen with DMSO, but rather what sized molecules can penetrate the barrier, usually the skin for what we are talking about. It is easy to prove that large molecules in DMSO will not be absorbed into the body. Take a really big molecule, such as a 1/4 carat diamond, and put it into dmso. Then see if it will go through the skin. If you try it, you will find that it will just sit there.

Marshall

Clayton Family wrote:
I used to work for a horse vet, and he told me that it is a potent solvent, which is why it is so useful as a topical agent to carry medications for horses and other animals. He suggested I use gloves to handle it, as it carries lots of things inside the body with it when it goes, and he felt it was necessary to clean the area of the animals skin well before applying it. Since he had the practical experience dealing with it


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