Lauryl Sodium Sulfate

SLS is a highly effective surfactant and is used in any task requiring the removal of oily stains and residues. As such the compound is found in high concentrations in industrial products including engine degreasers, floor cleaners, and car wash soaps. In household products, SLS is used in lower concentrations with toothpastes, shampoos, and shaving foams. It is an important component in bubble bath formulations for its thickening effect and its ability to create a lather.

Sodium lauryl sulfate diminishes perception of sweetness, an effect commonly observed after recent use of toothpaste containing this ingredient.

Research suggests that SLS could represent a potentially effective topical microbicide, which can also inhibit and possibly prevent infection by various enveloped and non-enveloped viruses such as the Herpes simplex viruses, HIV, and the Semliki Forest Virus.

It has recently found application as a surfactant in gas hydrate or methane hydrate formation reactions, increasing the rate of formation as much as 700 times.

In medicine, sodium lauryl sulfate is used rectally as a laxative in enemas, and as an excipient on some dissolvable aspirins and other fiber therapy caplets.

It can be used to aid in lysing cells during DNA extraction and for unraveling proteins in SDS-PAGE. Sodium lauryl sulfate, in science referred to as sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) or Duponol, is commonly used in preparing proteins for electrophoresis in the SDS-PAGE technique. This compound works by disrupting non-covalent bonds in the proteins, denaturing them, and causing the molecules to lose their native shape (conformation).

This new negative charge is significantly greater than the original charge of that protein. The electrostatic repulsion that is created by binding of SDS causes proteins to unfold into a rod-like shape thereby eliminating differences in shape as a factor for separation in the gel. Sodium lauryl sulfate is probably the most researched anionic surfactant compound. Like all detergent surfactants (including soaps), sodium lauryl sulfate removes oils from the skin, and can cause skin and eye irritation. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) in pure water at 25° C is 0.0082 M, and the aggregation number at this concentration is usually considered to be about 62. The micelle ionization fraction (α ) is around 0.3 (or 30%).

There is evidence that surfactants such as sodium lauryl sulfate can act as a shark repellent at concentrations on the order of 100 parts per million. However, this does not meet the desired "cloud" deterrence level of 0.1 parts per million