Triton X-100

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The structure of Triton X-100. R = 1,1,3,3-tetramethylbutyl

Triton® X-100 ( C₁₄H₂₂O(C₂H₄O)_n )is a nonionic surfactant which has a hydrophilic polyethylene oxide group (on average it has 9.5 ethylene oxide units) and a hydrocarbon lipophilic or hydrophobic group. The hydrocarbon group is a 4-(1,1,3,3-tetramethylbutyl)-phenyl group.^[1] It is related to the Pluronic range of detergents marketed by BASF. The pluronics are triblock copolymers of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide. The part formed from ethylene oxide is more hydrophilic than the part from propylene oxide. It is very viscous at room temperature and is thus easiest to use after being gently warmed.

Triton® X-100 is a registered trademark of Union Carbide and was purchased from Rohm & Haas Co.

1 Synonyms
2 Uses
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Synonyms

polyethylene glycol p-(1,1,3,3-tetramethylbutyl)-phenyl ether
octyl phenol ethoxylate
polyoxyethylene octyl phenyl ether
4-octylphenol polyethoxylate
Mono 30
TX-100
t-octylphenoxypolyethoxyethanol
Octoxynol-9^[2]

[edit] Uses

Commonly used detergent in biochemistry laboratories.
It can be used to permeabilize eukaryotic cell membranes
It is used in conjunction with zwitterionic detergents such as CHAPS to solubilize membrane proteins in their native state.
It is used in almost every type of liquid, paste, and powdered cleaning compound, ranging from heavy-duty industrial products to gentle detergents.
Can be used in DNA extraction as part of the lysis buffer (usually in a 5% solution in alkaline lysis buffer)