sulfoxide

[ suhl-fok-sahyd ]

noun

, Chemistry.

1. a brown liquid, C 1 8 H 2 8 O 3 S, insoluble in water, used as an insecticide synergist.
2. any of the compounds with the radical =SO, as dimethyl sulfoxide, (CH 3 ) 2 SO.

Word History and Origins

Origin of sulfoxide¹

First recorded in 1890–95; sulf- + oxide

Example Sentences

It won't scale up to industrial treatment, and it uses dimethyl sulfoxide, or DMSO, but these findings will guide future discoveries about what might work.

From Salon

Here we report a system comprising a lithium carbonate-based protected anode, a molybdenum disulfide cathode2 and an ionic liquid/dimethyl sulfoxide electrolyte that operates as a lithium–air battery in a simulated air atmosphere with a long cycle life of up to 700 cycles.

From Nature

Chinese ginger showed traces of a chemical, aldicarb sulfoxide, that is not approved for the root and is a notorious water pollutant, according to the agency.

From Los Angeles Times

The substance, Hydroxyethylpromazine sulfoxide, is a metabolite of the sedative Acepromazine -- a drug regularly used to treat horses but not allowed in competition.

From Reuters

This 2-substituted 5-nitroimidazole drug is rapidly oxidized in vivo in mice, dogs, and humans to sulfoxide and sulfone metabolites.

From Science Magazine