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:Tween 20 (also known by various commercial brand names such as Kolliphor PS 20, Scattics, Alkest TW 20, and Kotilen-20) is a polysorbate-type nonionic surfactant. It is formed by the ethoxylation of sorbitan monolaurate. Let’s break down its properties and applications :Properties Chemical Formula: C₅₈H₁₁₄O₂₆ Molar Mass: 1226 g/mol Appearance: Clear, yellow to yellow-green viscous liquid Density: Approximately 1.1 g/mL Boiling Point: >100 °C (212 °F; 373 K) Surface Tension (CMC): 8.04×10⁻⁵ M at 21 °C HLB (Hydrophilic-Lipophilic Balance): 16.71 Applications Biotechnical Applications Washing Agent in Immunoassays: Tween 20 is commonly used in techniques like Western blots and ELISAs. It helps prevent non-specific antibody binding. Typically, it is dissolved in Tris-buffered saline or phosphate buffered saline at dilutions of 0.05% to 0.5% v/v. These buffers are used for washes between immunoreactions to remove unbound immunologicals and reduce nonspecific background Saturating Binding Sites on Surfaces: It coats polystyrene microplates (often combined with proteins like BSA) to stabilize binding sites Stabilizing Proteins: In lysing mammalian cells, Tween 20 is used at a concentration of 0.05% to 0.5% v/v, often combined with other detergents, salts, and additives Pharmaceutical Applications Emulsions and Suspensions: Tween 20 acts as an excipient to stabilize emulsions and suspensions Solubilizing Membrane Proteins: It is used during the isolation of membrane-protein complexes due to its low UV absorbance, making subsequent protein detection by UV light absorption feasible