What is a Poloxamer?
Poloxamer 407 is also called polyethylene- propylene glycol copolymer or polyoxyethylene-polypropylene copolymer. Poloxamer is an amphiphilic block copolymer of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and poly(propylene oxide) (PPO).
Lyphar Poloxamer
All poloxamers are chemically similar in composition, different in the ethylene oxides added during production and amounts of propylene.
There’s a wide range of poloxamers’ surface-active properties in the market have many types. We supply kinds of Poloxamers since 2011, Poloxamer 118 and Poloxamer 407 are our main hot selling.
The pharmacopeia shows the Poloxamers are non-irritant and nontoxic.,the medical application of Poloxamer are usually ophthalmic preparations; injections; oral powders. topical preparations and suspensions, solution. We are a poloxamer 188 supplier and poloxamer 407 manufacturers.
Below is the chemical structure of Poloxamer:
Generalized Chemical Structure of Poloxamer
Chemical Name | Poloxamer |
CAS Registration Number | 9003-11-6 |
Formula | HO(C2H4O)a(C3H6O)b(C2H4O)aH |
Molecular weight | 2090 -14 600 |
Supplier | Xi’an Lyphar Biotech Co., Ltd. |
Type | Ethylene oxide units (a) | Propylene oxide units (b) | Content of oxyethylene (%) | Average molar mass |
Poloxamer 407 | 95 – 105 | 54 to 60 | 71.5 to 74.9 | 9840 to 14 600 |
Poloxamer 188 | 75 – 85 | 25 – 30 | 79.9 – 83.7 | 7680 – 9510 |
Poloxamer 237 | 60 – 68 | 35 – 40 | 70.5 – 74.3 | 8740 – 8830 |
Poloxamer 338 | 137 – 146 | 42 – 47 | 81.4 – 84.9 | 12700 – 17400 |
Physical and chemical properties of Poloxamer
Acidity/aikalinity | pH = 5.0-7.4(2.5% w/v aqueous solution) |
Cloud point | > 100C( 1% w/s aqueous solution, and a 10% w/v aqueous solution of poloxamer 188) |
HLB value | 0.5 – 30 |
Melting Point | 52 – 57oC(poloxamer 188); 52-57 oC ( poloxamer 407) |
Solubility | Solubility varies according to the poloxamer type |
Surface tension | 19.8 mN/m ( 0.1% w/v aqueous poloxamer 188 solution at 25C); 24.0mN/m ( 0.01% w/w aqueous poloxamer 188 solution at 25C); |
Viscosity (dynamic) | 1000 mPas as a melt at 77C for poloxamer 188 |
Uses of Poloxamers
- Due to their amphiphilic structure, polymers have surfactant properties that make them useful in industrial applications. Among other things, they can be used to increase the water solubility of hydrophobic oily substances or otherwise increase the miscibility of two substances with different hydrophobicities. For this reason, these polymers are commonly used in industrial applications, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. They have also been evaluated for various drug delivery applications and shown to sensitize drug-resistant cancers to chemotherapy.
- In bioprocessing applications, poloxamers are used in cell culture media for their cell buffering effect, as their addition reduces stress-shear conditions for cells in the reactor. There are grades of poloxamers available specifically for cell culture, including Kolliphor P 188 Bio.
- In materials science, poloxamer P123 has recently been used to synthesize mesoporous materials, including SBA-15.
- Concentrated solutions of poloxamers can form hydrogels when mixed with water. These gels can be easily extruded, used as carriers for other particles, and used in robotic casting.
The above information is quoted from Wikipedia.
Poloxamer 188 and 407 difference
- As emulsifier and stabilizer: Poloxamer188 (Pluronic F68) as an oil-in-water emulsifier is one of the very few synthetic emulsifiers currently used in intravenous emulsions. The dosage is 0.1%~5%. The emulsion prepared with this product has few emulsion particles, generally below 1μm, and a high absorption rate. The physical properties are stable and can withstand hot-pressure sterilization and low-temperature freezing. Application example: Prescription of fatty milk infusion for injection, Lipomul:150g of cottonseed oil, 12g of soybean phospholipid, 3g of Pluronic F68, 40g of glucose, and water for injection added to 100ml.
- As solubilized: This product can increase the surface solubility of many kinds of drugs such as salicylic acid, valium, anti-inflammatory pain, methotrexate, etc. due to the formation of colloid by surfactant. Take salicylic acid as an example, salicylic acid can be solubilized in two Pluronic classes Pluronic L65 and Pluronic F68, each mole of Pluronic L65 can solubilize salicylic acid by 1.3 mol, and each mole of Pluronic F68 can solubilize salicylic acid by 0.93 mol, which shows that salicylic acid is stable in different concentrations of Pluronic solubility. Solubility of salicylic acid in Pluronic per minute (mg/ml×10000). The solubility of salicylic acid in F68 increased gradually with the increase of active agent concentration, but in L65, the solubility increased rapidly to the maximum with the increase of concentration, but then decreased gradually.
- As absorption promoter: On the one hand, because this product slows down the intestinal peristalsis, the retention time of the drug in the gastrointestinal tract grows and the absorption increases, which can improve the bioavailability of the oral preparation, on the other hand, this product has good solubility with the skin and increases the skin permeability, which can promote the absorption of topical agents.
- As a slow-release material: solid products with large molecular weight, used as a binder, coating material, etc. to prepare tablets, capsules, gels, etc., to achieve the purpose of slow release and controlled release, has obtained a more satisfactory effect. Dosage 5%~15%.
- As solid dispersant: Pluronic solid-type products can be used as the carrier of solid dispersions, such as the solid dispersions made by Pautaxone, ashwagandha, and digitalis with this product, which greatly improve the solubility of these drugs and promote the absorption of these drugs. Dosage 2%~10%.6 The solid type of this product used as a base for creams and suppositories not only has solubility and can promote the absorption of drugs but also can play a slow release when used as a base.
How are poloxamers used in cosmetics?
Poloxamers are used in the cosmetics field as facial cleanser products, oil-in-water emulsifiers, and dispersers.
Poloxamer help to form emulsions by reducing the surface tension of the substances to be emulsified and promoting the dissolution of other ingredients which not normally dissolve. Poloxamer also have a clean function for skin and hair, it can help water to mix with oil and dirt to rinse them away. Poloxamer 188 can kill microorganisms or prevent their growth and reproduction. Poloxamer 182 acts as a lubricant on the skin’s surface, which gives the skin a soft and smooth appearance. Poloxamer 182 makes skin soft and smoothly because it works like a lubricant on the surface of the skin.
For medical applications, poloxamers are used in solubilizing agents or emulsifying as poloxamers are nonionic polyoxyethylene-polyoxypropylene copolymers. They can use in intravenous stabilizing agents and fat emulsions to maintain the clarity of syrups and elixirs.
Poloxamer also can be used in suppository bases, tablet binders, ointments and gels. For example, poloxamer 188 has usually used as an emulsifying agent for fluorocarbons, and in the preparation of solid-dispersion systems. Currently, poloxamer use in drug-delivery systems was a new trend.
What’s more, poloxamer 188 is used as a wetting agent and stool lubricant in constipation treatment; it is usually used in combination with a laxative. As a wetting agent poloxamer is also used t in eye-drop formulations, skin-wound cleaning or kidney stones treatment.
Summary of poloxamers
Poloxamers is a synthetic big copolymer molecule that is used mainly as a solubilizer and gelling agent which can make small amounts of oil-loving ingredients soluble in water-based formulas.
Typically, poloxamers are composed of three parts: the middle block is an oil-loving part, while the left and right blocks are two water-loving parts from ethylene oxide units. This means that poloxamers are partly water-soluble and partly oil-soluble so the function of surface active agents acting as emulsifiers or skin cleansers. The size of both the oil and water-soluble part can vary, the numbers in the name of the molecule refer to both the overall size of the whole molecule and the ratio of the water-soluble part.
Xi’an Lyphar Biotech supply Poloxamer series products since 2011, if any needs or questions welcome to contact us.