DMSO

Dimethyl Sulfoxide.

I use it to make things dissolve better--decylubiquinone among other things. It inhibits secondary structure formation in DNA, which is useful when you're trying to get those sticky little buggers to copy themselves.

It's also a neurotoxin. Guess I was wrong about the cancer thing. I went onto the Wikipedia and found out these fun facts:

1. It dissolves nitrile gloves with ease. (thought I was being safe)
2. It's a great solvent (it mixes well, and can dissolve both polar and nonpolar things), but it makes whatever you put in it That Much More Toxic because it penetrates the skin like a dream.
3. It's commonly used in medical treatments, because it can be a vehicle to carry medicine into tissues without compromising them. Think toenails...
4. When it penetrates your skin, you get a strong taste of oysters in your mouth.
5. The FDA has been recently evaluating its potential use as an agent to reduce brain swelling. Wait...Neurotoxin, what?

So, maybe I was being a bit too nervous about the DMSO. Just to be safe though, I'm going to avoid dissolving things like potassium cyanide in it and then spilling it on my hands...