Hydroxysultaines are chemical compounds used in high-foaming shampoos, bath products and shower gels especially in conjunction with ether sulfates and alkyl sulfates. They are also used in industrial applications where high, stable foam is required. Chemically, hydroxysultaines are zwitterionic, typically containing covalently linked positive and negative ions.
Hydroxysultaine is prepared industrially by the reaction of sodium bisulfite with epichlorohydrin to give the sodium salt (sodium 1-chloro-2-hydroxypropane sulfonate). [1] This is similar to the synthesis of isethionate, which is also used as a 'head-group' in surfactants. It is typically combined with the rest of the surfactant molecule via a Menshutkin reaction with a tertiary amine.
Hydroxysultaines are also compatible with cationic surfactants and are stable over a wide pH range in soft or hard water. In addition to being used as a surfactant, hydroxysultaines are often used as antistatic agents.
Examples include:
Sodium laureth sulfate (SLES), an accepted contraction of sodium lauryl ether sulfate (SLES), is an anionic detergent and surfactant found in many personal care products. SLES is an inexpensive and very effective foaming agent. SLES, sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), ammonium lauryl sulfate (ALS), and sodium pareth sulfate are surfactants that are used in many cosmetic products for their cleaning and emulsifying properties. It is derived from palm kernel oil or coconut oil.
Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) or sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), sometimes written sodium laurilsulfate, is a synthetic organic compound with the formula CH3(CH2)11SO4Na. It is an anionic surfactant used in many cleaning and hygiene products. This molecule is an organosulfate and a salt. It consists of a 12-carbon tail attached to a sulfate group, that is, it is the sodium salt of dodecyl hydrogen sulfate, the ester of dodecyl alcohol and sulfuric acid. Its hydrocarbon tail combined with a polar "headgroup" give the compound amphiphilic properties and so make it useful as a detergent. Also derived as a component of mixtures produced from inexpensive coconut and palm oils, SDS is a common component of many domestic cleaning, personal hygiene and cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and food products, as well as of industrial and commercial cleaning and product formulations.
Surfactants are compounds that lower the surface tension between two liquids, between a gas and a liquid, or between a liquid and a solid. Surfactants may act as detergents, wetting agents, emulsifiers, foaming agents, and dispersants.
Palmitic acid, or hexadecanoic acid in IUPAC nomenclature, is the most common saturated fatty acid found in animals, plants and microorganisms. Its chemical formula is CH3(CH2)14COOH, and its C:D is 16:0. As its name indicates, it is a major component of the oil from the fruit of oil palms (palm oil). Palmitic acid can also be found in meats, cheeses, butter, and other dairy products. Palmitates are the salts and esters of palmitic acid. The palmitate anion is the observed form of palmitic acid at physiologic pH (7.4).
Oleic acid is a fatty acid that occurs naturally in various animal and vegetable fats and oils. It is an odorless, colorless oil, although commercial samples may be yellowish. In chemical terms, oleic acid is classified as a monounsaturated omega-9 fatty acid, abbreviated with a lipid number of 18:1 cis-9. It has the formula CH3(CH2)7CH=CH(CH2)7COOH. The name derives from the Latin word oleum, which means oil. It is the most common fatty acid in nature. The salts and esters of oleic acid are called oleates.
Linoleic acid is a chemical compound wih formula C
18H
32O
2, specifically the fatty acid with structure HO(O=)C–(CH2)7CH=CH–CH2–CH=CH–(CH2–)3H with both double bonds (between carbon atoms 9 and 10, and 12 and 13) in the cis configuration. It is often denoted in technical food science literature by the shorthand 18:2 (n-6) or 18:2 cis-9,12. A linoleate is a salt or ester of this acid.
Ammonium lauryl sulfate (ALS) is the common name for ammonium dodecyl sulfate (CH3(CH2)10CH2OSO3NH4). The anion consists of a nonpolar hydrocarbon chain and a polar sulfate end group. The combination of nonpolar and polar groups confers surfactant properties to the anion: it facilitates dissolution of both polar and non-polar materials. ALS is classified as a sulfate ester. It is found primarily in shampoos and body-wash as a foaming agent./ Lauryl sulfates are very high-foam surfactants that disrupt the surface tension of water in part by forming micelles at the surface-air interface.
Fatty alcohols (or long-chain alcohols) are usually high-molecular-weight, straight-chain primary alcohols, but can also range from as few as 4–6 carbons to as many as 22–26, derived from natural fats and oils. The precise chain length varies with the source. Some commercially important fatty alcohols are lauryl, stearyl, and oleyl alcohols. They are colourless oily liquids (for smaller carbon numbers) or waxy solids, although impure samples may appear yellow. Fatty alcohols usually have an even number of carbon atoms and a single alcohol group (–OH) attached to the terminal carbon. Some are unsaturated and some are branched. They are widely used in industry. As with fatty acids, they are often referred to generically by the number of carbon atoms in the molecule, such as "a C12 alcohol", that is an alcohol having 12 carbons, for example dodecanol.
Dodecanol, or lauryl alcohol, is an organic compound produced industrially from palm kernel oil or coconut oil. It is a fatty alcohol. Sulfate esters of lauryl alcohol, especially sodium lauryl sulfate, are very widely used as surfactants. Sodium lauryl sulfate, ammonium lauryl sulfate, and sodium laureth sulfate are all used in shampoos. Lauryl alcohol is tasteless and colorless with a floral odor.
A foaming agent is a material that facilitates the formation of foam such as a surfactant or a blowing agent. A surfactant, when present in small amounts, reduces surface tension of a liquid or increases its colloidal stability by inhibiting coalescence of bubbles. A blowing agent is a gas that forms the gaseous part of the foam.
Laundry detergent, or washing powder, is a type of detergent used for cleaning laundry. Laundry detergent is manufactured in powder and liquid form.
Isethionic acid is an organosulfur compound containing an alkylsulfonic acid located beta to a hydroxy group. Its discovery is generally attributed to Heinrich Gustav Magnus, who prepared it by the action of solid sulfur trioxide on ethanol in 1833. It is a white water-soluble solid used in the manufacture of certain surfactants and in the industrial production of taurine. It is most commonly available in the form of its sodium salt.
Sodium myreth sulfate is a mixture of organic compounds with both detergent and surfactant properties. It is found in many personal care products such as soaps, shampoos, and toothpaste. It is an inexpensive and effective foaming agent. Typical of many detergents, sodium myreth sulfate consists of several closely related compounds. Sometimes the number of ethylene glycol ether units (n) is specified in the name as myreth-n sulfate, for example myreth-2 sulfate.
Cocamidopropyl betaine (CAPB) is a mixture of closely related organic compounds derived from coconut oil and dimethylaminopropylamine. CAPB is available as a viscous pale yellow solution and it is used as a surfactant in personal care products. The name reflects that the major part of the molecule, the lauric acid group, is derived from coconut oil. Cocamidopropyl betaine to a significant degree has replaced cocamide DEA. CAPB is considered a zwitterionic surfactant, containing both positive and negative charges on its head group.
Organosulfates are a class of organic compounds sharing a common functional group commonly with the structure R-O-SO3−. The SO4 core is a sulfate group and the R group is any organic residue. All organosulfates are formally esters derived from alcohols and sulfuric acid, although many are not prepared in this way. Many sulfate esters are used in detergents, and some are useful reagents. Alkyl sulfates consist of a hydrophobic hydrocarbon chain, a polar sulfate group (containing an anion) and either a cation or amine to neutralize the sulfate group. Examples include: sodium lauryl sulfate (also known as sulfuric acid mono dodecyl ester sodium salt) and related potassium and ammonium salts.
Oleochemistry is the study of vegetable oils and animal oils and fats, and oleochemicals derived from these fats and oils or from petrochemical feedstocks through physico-chemical modifications or transformation. First used in the making of soaps, oleochemistry is now part of our daily lives where it is found in a wide variety of sectors like food, cosmetics, pharmaceutical and industrial. The resulting product can be called Oleochemicals. They are analogous to petrochemicals derived from petroleum.
Sodium lauroyl sarcosinate (INCI), also known as sarkosyl, is an anionic surfactant derived from sarcosine used as a foaming and cleansing agent in shampoo, shaving foam, toothpaste, and foam wash products. In molecular biology experiments, sarkosyl and sodium lauryl sulfate have been shown to affect the ability of DNA in mouse cells to be used to make proteins.
Lactylates are organic compounds that are FDA approved for use as food additives and cosmetic ingredients. These additives are non-toxic, biodegradable, and typically manufactured using biorenewable feedstocks. Owing to their safety and versatile functionality, lactylates are used in a wide variety of food and non-food applications. In the United States, the Food Chemicals Codex specifies the labeling requirements for food ingredients including lactylates. In the European Union, lactylates must be labelled in accordance with the requirements of the applicable EU regulation. Lactylates may be labelled as calcium stearoyl lactylate (CSL), sodium stearoyl lactylate (SSL), or lactylic esters of fatty acids (LEFA).
Omega-7 fatty acids are a class of unsaturated fatty acids in which the site of unsaturation is seven carbon atoms from the end of the carbon chain. The two most common omega-7 fatty acids in nature are palmitoleic acid and vaccenic acid. They are widely used in cosmetics due to their moisturizing properties. Diets rich in omega-7 fatty acids have been shown to have beneficial health effects, such as increasing levels of HDL cholesterol and lowering levels of LDL cholesterol.
Taurates (or taurides) are a group of mild anionic surfactants. They are composed of a hydrophilic head group, consisting of N-methyltaurine (2-methylaminoethanesulfonic acid) and a lipophilic residue, consisting of a long-chain carboxylic acid (fatty acid), both linked via an amide bond. The fatty acids used could be lauric (C12), myristic (C14), palmitic (C16) or stearic acid (C18), but mainly mixtures of oleic acid (C18:1) and coconut fatty acid (C8 – C18) are used. Besides sodium, no other counterions play a relevant role (these could be e. g. ammonium or other alkali or alkaline earth metals).