Oxaliplatin reacts with DMSO only in the presence of water

Herein we show that oxaliplatin reacts rapidly with DMSO in aqueous solutions, despite being stable in pure DMSO and pure water. Furthermore, the reactivity of the clinically applied Pt(II) drugs in water/DMSO and PBS/DMSO mixtures, and the nature of the species formed were investigated by MS, NMR and RP-HPLC techniques.