Product name: Sodium lauroylsarcosinate

CAS: 137-16-6

Molecular formula: C15H28NO3.Na

Molecular weight: 293.38

Description: Sodium lauroyl sarcosinate (INCI), also known as sarkosyl, is an ionic surfactant derived from sarcosine, used as a foaming and cleansing agent in shampoo, shaving foam and foam wash products. In molecular biology experiments, sarkosyl is used to inhibit the initiation of DNA transcription.

This surfactant is amphiphilic due to the hydrophobic 14-carbon chain (lauroyl) and the hydrophilic carboxylate. Since the nitrogen atom is in an amide linkage, the nitrogen is not pH active and is neutral at all solutions regardless of pH. The carboxylate has a pKa of about 3.6 and is therefore negatively charged in solutions of pH greater than about 5.5.

pH sensitive biocompatible[further explanation needed] vesicles can be prepared using this surfactant with another cationic or middle chain[further explanation needed] alcohol like 1-decanol. The mixture of sodium lauroyl sarcosinate and non-ionic surfactant sorbitan monolaurate (S20) in 1:1 phosphate increased aggregation behavior and exhibited higher skin permeabilization.