Poloxamer 407 is a hydrophilic

Hydrophile

A hydrophile, from the Greek "water" and φιλια "love," is a molecule or other molecular entity that is attracted to, and tends to be dissolved by water. A hydrophilic molecule or portion of a molecule is one that has a tendency to interact with or be dissolved by, water and other polar substances...

 non-ion

Ion

An ion is an atom or molecule in which the total number of electrons is not equal to the total number of protons, giving it a net positive or negative electrical charge. The name was given by physicist Michael Faraday for the substances that allow a current to pass between electrodes in a...

ic surfactant

Surfactant

Surfactants are compounds that lower the surface tension of a liquid, the interfacial tension between two liquids, or that between a liquid and a solid...

 of the more general class of copolymers known as poloxamer

Poloxamer

Poloxamers are nonionic triblock copolymers composed of a central hydrophobic chain of polyoxypropylene flanked by two hydrophilic chains of polyoxyethylene . The word "poloxamer" was coined by the inventor, Irving Schmolka, who received the patent for these materials in 1973...

s. Poloxamer 407 is a triblock copolymer consisting of a central hydrophobic block of polypropylene glycol

Polypropylene glycol

Polypropylene glycol or polypropylene oxide is the polymer of propylene glycol. Chemically it is a polyether. The term polypropylene glycol or PPG is reserved for low to medium range molar mass polymer when the nature of the end-group, which is usually a hydroxyl group, still matters...

 flanked by two hydrophilic blocks of polyethylene glycol

Polyethylene glycol

Polyethylene glycol is a polyether compound with many applications from industrial manufacturing to medicine. It has also been known as polyethylene oxide or polyoxyethylene , depending on its molecular weight, and under the tradename Carbowax.-Available forms:PEG, PEO, or POE refers to an...

. The approximate lengths of the two PEG blocks is 101 repeat units while the approximate length of the propylene gycol block is 56 repeat units. This particular compound is also known by the BASF

BASF

BASF SE is the largest chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Germany. BASF originally stood for Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik . Today, the four letters are a registered trademark and the company is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, London Stock Exchange, and Zurich Stock...

 trade name Pluronic F127.

Uses of poloxamer 407

Most of the common uses of poloxamer 407 are related to its surfactant properties. For example, it is widely used in cosmetics

Cosmetics

Cosmetics are substances used to enhance the appearance or odor of the human body. Cosmetics include skin-care creams, lotions, powders, perfumes, lipsticks, fingernail and toe nail polish, eye and facial makeup, towelettes, permanent waves, colored contact lenses, hair colors, hair sprays and...

 for dissolving oily ingredients in water. It can also be found in multi-purpose contact lens cleaning solutions, where its purpose there is to help remove lipid films from the lens. It can also be found in some mouthwashes. There is a research ongoing for using poloxamer 407 for aligning severed blood vessels before gluing them surgically.

Reports of adverse effects

It was reported in The Australian newspaper 18 November 2006 that this common ingredient in toothpaste and mouthwash can cause high cholesterol . A team from the Centre for Ageing and the ANZAC Research Institute in Sydney found that when P407 was given to mice, it coated cells in the liver that control cholesterol levels, leading to a 10-fold increase in levels. The dose administered was 1g/kg by inter-peritoneal injection.

External links

• BASF page on Lutrol F-127
• Ingredient Fact Sheet: Poloxamer 335 and 407 from Tom's of Maine
  Tom's of Maine
  Tom's of Maine is a brandname and manufacturer of natural-ingredients-only personal care products, a partially owned subsidiary of Colgate-Palmolive since 2006. The company's products are intentionally made without ingredients that are either chemically derived, have a negative environmental...
  
  
• ChemSub Online: Poloxamer 407