Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate (SDS) Supplier South Africa

What Is Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate?

Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), also known as sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), is a pure C12 anionic surfactant with exceptional wetting, foaming, and emulsifying properties. The high-purity (≥99%) grade is the benchmark surfactant for analytical chemistry, biochemistry (SDS-PAGE gel electrophoresis), and pharmaceutical dissolution testing. The technical grade is widely used in cleaning product formulation, cosmetics, and industrial processing.

Formulation and Laboratory Applications

In detergent formulation, SDS contributes strong primary foaming, rapid substrate wetting, and good grease emulsification. Its well-defined molecular structure and uniform chain length make it the preferred choice when reproducible, predictable surfactant performance is required — in pharmaceutical tablet testing, for instance, or in standardised industrial cleaning validation protocols. In biochemistry it denatures proteins and imparts uniform negative charge, enabling electrophoretic separation by molecular weight.

Grade Selection and Supply

Terracore Chemicals stocks both laboratory-grade (≥99%) and technical-grade SDS. Laboratory grade is packaged in 1 kg and 5 kg quantities; technical grade is available in 25 kg bags and bulk. Both grades carry full documentation including Certificate of Analysis and Safety Data Sheet. We supply research institutions, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and cleaning product formulators across South Africa.