Histological and cytological procedures are multi-stepped and time consuming. Dimethyl sulfoxide is added to proprietary blends of plastic polymer paraffin waxes. The DMSO reduces infiltration times and facilitates thin sectioning (Culling CFA. Handbook of Histopathological and Histochemical Techniques. 3rd ed. Sydney: Butterworths. 1974) DMSO is thought to scavenge residual transition solvent and probably alter tissue permeability by substituting for or removing bound water thus improving infiltration.

One example on the market is Paraplast Plus® that is similar to the original product except that Plus has added to it a low level (<0.1%) of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) for faster tissue penetration. According to the manufacturer’s claims, this slight variation in composition typically results in a shortening of infiltration times by one third.

DMSO is also used in stains for nucleic acid where degree and intensity of staining is improved with the use of DMSO.

Related Resources

DMSO USP Product Sheet: Representative specification, packaging and basic uses

DMSO section: Portion of the webpage dedicated to general DMSO topics

DMSO in the Pharmaceutical Industry: More about the use of DMSO “From Benchtop to Bedside”