Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)

MAK Value Documentation, addendum – Translation of the German version from 2011

  Andrea Hartwig¹ (Chair of the Permanent Senate Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft)
  MAK Commission<sup>2

1</sup> Institute of Applied Biosciences, Department of Food Chemistry and Toxicology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Adenauerring 20a, Geb. 50.41, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
² Permanent Senate Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Kennedyallee 40, 53175 Bonn, Germany

Abstract

The German Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area has re‐evaluated the designation with “H” (for substances for which skin contact is expected to contribute significantly to the systemic toxicity) for DMSO [67‐68‐5]. Based on a diffusion cell study with excised human skin, 35.2 g DMSO (about 500 mg/kg body weight) would be dermally absorbed each hour through an area of 2000 cm² of skin. This amount corresponds to about half of the LOAEL (lowest observed adverse effect level) established in volunteers. Therefore, skin contact is expected to contribute significantly to the systemic toxicity of DMSO, and DMSO is still designated with an “H”.

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