Tween 20

Structure of Tween20, aka Polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan monolaurate

Tween (full name Tween 20 or Polysorbate 20) is a common detergent used in biology used in cell lysis and membrane protein solubilisation among other uses.

Storage/Stability

Based on the SIGMA Tween20 data sheet [1]

• aqueous solutions of polysorbates undergo autoxidation during storage, with changes being catalyzed by light, increased temperature, and copper sulfate
• autoclaving is not recommended without testing for changes in properties; TWEEN 20 may not be stable to autoclaving, particularly with metal cations in buffer solutions.
• TWEEN 20 is heat sensitive and will darken when exposed to elevated temperatures
• polysorbates have been reported to be incompatible with alkalis, heavy metal salts, phenols, and tannic acid
• polysorbates may reduce the activity of many preservatives. No plastic incompatabilities have been observed.

See also

• TBST - tris-buffered saline with Tween
• PBS-T - phosphate-buffered saline with Tween

External links

• Tween 20 on Wikipedia
• Tween 80 on Wikipedia