Application

TWEEN 20 is a nonionic detergent widely used in biochemical applications. It has been used as an emulsifying agent for the preparation of stable oil-in-water emulsions. TWEEN 20 has been used in pre-extraction of membranes to remove peripheral proteins (used at 2% for extraction of membrane-bound proteins). TWEEN 20 has been used as a blocking agent for membrane based immunoassays at a typical concentration of 0.05%. TWEEN 20 can be used for lysing mammalian cells at a concentration of 0.005 to 0.5%.

TWEEN 20 has been used as a component of:washing buffer and blocking buffer in Western blottingblocking buffer in immunohistochemistrywashing buffer in ELISA (enzyme linked immunosorbent assay)reaction mixture in PCR (polymerase chain reaction)

Non-ionic detergent

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.

Legal Information

TWEEN is a registered trademark of Croda International PLC

Packaging

25, 100, 250, 500, 6×500 mL in poly bottle

1, 4 L in poly bottle

P1379-1KT:Each kit contains 3 x 100ML samples, each sample from a uniquely manufactured lot.

Preparation Note

TWEEN 20 is miscible in water (100mg/mL), yielding a clear, yellow solution. It is also miscible with alcohol, dioxane, and ethyl acetate. TWEEN 20 is insoluble in liquid paraffin and fixed oils.