Cloudiness of Polysorbate
Information
| Question | I have some Polysorbate 80 and Polysorbate 20that has become cloudy. Why did this happen? What can I do about it? |
| Answer |
On occasion, Polysorbate 80 (such as the products listed below) can become cloudy over time. This is more common with manufactured lots that contain very low amounts of water. Brand Product Code CAS No. Description J.T.Baker 4117 9005-65-6 Polysorbate 80, NF, Multi-Compendial Due to the low moisture content, there is a possibility that a precipitate may form during storage. The precipitate is associated with sodium oleate (in Polysorbate 80) and sodium laurate (in Polysorbate 20) derived from the catalyst (sodium hydroxide) used during the manufacture of the polysorbates. It can precipitate over time which can be white to brown in color. A low percentage of sodium oleate or sodium laurate is always present and is NOT detrimental to the quality of the products. However, if the precipitate is undesirable for your application, you should be able to re-dissolve it. The addition of a small amount of water (< 3% total) should help the precipitate become soluble in the material. Please be aware that if you are using an older version of Adobe Acrobat Reader (5.0 or earlier, for example) the information in the attached files may not display correctly. If needed, you can visit the Adobe homepage to download the most current version of the Adobe Reader software free of charge: Adobe.com Trademarks are owned by Avantor Performance Materials, LLC. or its affiliates unless otherwise noted. |
| File | CIQA-0101 Cloudiness of Polysorb R0.pdf |
| Keyword | 4119, 4117, 4113, 4125, BS25, 4500, x257, polyoxyethylene, sorbitan, monooleate, tween |