Related: Biological Science MOC, Lab Management MOC
Summary
DMSO is used as a dissolving reagent (polar solvent, aprotic solvent) to dissolve polar and non-polar solids. I’ve used it for dissolving and preparing stock solutions of small molecules for different assays. It cools easily, so it should be left at room temperature. Do not warm it up by applying heat (waterbath, microwave, etc) - let it warm up by itself.
High purity DMSO tends to “smell” less or be odorless. The odor you smell is from the sulfur in the compound (rotten egg-like smell). If the product has small amounts of un-reacted DMS (dimethyl sulfide), then that DMS can contribute to having the rotten egg-like smell.
DMSO comes in sterile and none-sterile forms. For cell culture, make sure to get references that are specified as “sterile” or “sterile-filtered” and meant for cell culture.
Fire: user Water Foam CO2 Dry powder