Thanks, Marshall, that makes much more sense now. I had forgotten how
osmosis works, it seems.
kathryn
On Jan 16, 2008, at 4:54 PM, Marshall Dudley wrote:
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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