Merck, 93773-250G, TWEEN® 20

General description
Tween®20 is a polyoxyethylene sorbitol ester that belongs to the polysorbate family. It is a nonionic detergent having a molecular weight of 1,225 daltons, assuming 20 ethylene oxide units, 1 sorbitol, and 1 lauric acid as the primary fatty acid. The ethylene oxide subunits are responsible for the hydrophilic nature of the surfactant, while the hydrocarbon chains provide the hydrophobic environment. Sorbitol forms the backbone ring to which the ethylene oxide polymers are attached.
Application
Non-ionic detergent
Tween® 20 is widely used in several biochemical applications. It has been used:

as an emulsifying agent for the preparation of stable oil-in-water emulsions
in pre-extraction of membranes to remove peripheral proteins (used at 2% for extraction of membrane-bound proteins)
as a blocking agent for membrane based immunoassays at a typical concentration of 0.05% - 1%
for lysing mammalian cells at a concentration of 0.005 to 0.5%
for rehydrating tissue before in situ hybridization

Biochem/physiol Actions
Tween® 20, functioning as a detergent, potentially operates by binding to the hydrophobic components of water-insoluble substances, thereby making them hydrophilic.
Features and Benefits
Suitable for protein purification and DNA and RNA extraction
Suitable for mammalian cell culture
High purity product for research applications

Other Notes
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Legal Information
TWEEN is a registered trademark of Croda International PLC
Disclaimer
may get turbid on storage, heat to clear