Organic solvents for pharmaceutical parenterals and embolic liquids: a review of toxicity data.

Non-aqueous solvents have long been used in subcutaneous or intramuscular pharmaceutical formulations to dissolve water-insoluble drugs. In recent years, the need for these vehicles was increased since the drug discovery process has yielded many poorly water-soluble drugs. Besides, preparations containing embolic materials dissolved in undiluted non-aqueous water-miscible solvents have been proposed for the intravascular treatment of aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations, or tumors. These organic solvents, regarded as chemically and biologically inert, may show pharmacological and toxicological effects. Therefore, knowledge of tolerance and activity of non-aqueous solvents is essential before they can be administered, especially when given undiluted. This paper focuses on thirteen organic solvents reported as possible vehicles for injectable products and details toxicological data when they have been administered intravascularly. These solvents can be subdivided into three groups according to their description in the literature either for intravenous pharmaceutical parenterals or for intravascular embolic liquids: well-documented organic solvents (propylene glycol, polyethylene glycols, ethanol), solvents described in specific applications (dimethyl sulfoxide, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, glycofurol, Solketal, glycerol formal, acetone), and solvents not reported in intravascular applications but potentially useful (tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol, diglyme, dimethyl isosorbide, ethyl lactate). This review of the literature shows that toxicity data on intravascular organic solvents are insufficient because they concern solvents diluted with water and because of the lack of comparative evaluation using the same methodologies.