Many detergent varieties are available from several suppliers molecular and biochemical procedures such as protein purification, DNA/RNA isolation, staining and microscopy, electrophoresis, immunoassays, and more.
Tween® 20, also known as polysorbate 20 or polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan monolaurate, is a nonionic detergent commonly used in immunoassay applications, such as immunofluorescence, ELISA and Western blotting. It is added to buffers to help prevent non-specific antibody binding during washing steps. It can also be added to lysing buffers for breaking apart mammalian cells. At room temperature, Tween 20 appears as a clear, yellow viscous liquid. It has a molar mass of 1,227 g/mol and is soluble in water and alcohol.